Related Standards 

Three general types of communication standards are LAN, LPWAN, and Cellular Network (as shown in the chart above). The chart shows some advantages and disadvantages of LAN, LPWAN, and cellular networks. There are major differences and similarities between all three as well, which will be discussed in this section.

LAN

A LAN is a computer network and associated devices that share a common communications line or wireless link to a server and span a relatively small area. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are two very common examples of LAN. Wi-Fi has a high bandwidth, but a very limited reach and consumes a lot of power. Faster standards require even more power. Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE/BTLE) run well on small batteries, and thus does not need a lot of power to run, although the reach is only a few meters. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and BTLE are widely adopted standards and serve the application of communication between personal devices quite well. Cellular technology works well for applications needing high data throughput and for devices with a power source. LPWAN offers multi-year battery lifetime, which equates to 10 years in some cases, because it has such a low power draw. It is often only needed to send small amounts of data over long distances just a few times per hour in variable environments.

Cellular Network/Mobile Internet

This is the network used to power smartphones and other related devices. The range is a few hundred meters up to a few kilometers in rural areas, although speed is limited in rural areas. Another limitation to this technology is that it pulls a lot of power. Smartphones die very quickly and need to be recharged.

These standards do not fulfill the IoT requirements since IoT devices must have a low power draw and support a wide area of coverage.

*A complete list of wireless IoT protocols can be found at https://www.link-labs.com/blog/complete-list-iot-network-protocols