A Comparative Survey of LPWA Networking

Motivated by the increasing variance of suggested Internet of Things (IoT) applications and the lack of suitability of current wireless technologies in scalable, long range deployments, a number of diverging Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technologies have been developed. These technologies promise to enable a scalable high range network on cheap low power devices, facilitating the development of a ubiquitous IoT. This paper provides a definition of this new LPWA paradigm, presents a systematic approach to defined suitable use cases, and undertakes a detailed comparison of current LPWA standards, including the primary technologies, upcoming cellular options, and remaining proprietary solutions.