Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA) technology is enabling the next big jump towards a connected world and IoT. LPWA networks are designed for IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications that have low data rates, require long battery life and optimized cost, and operate in remote and hard to reach locations. They will be easy to implement and deploy and serve a number of vertical markets such as manufacturing, wearables, utilities and transport.

 

 

 

 

 

Key Characteristics of LPWA

• Low power consumption that enables devices to last up to 10 years on a single charge
• Optimized data transfer that supports small, intermittent blocks of data
• Low device unit cost
• Easy installation of the network
• Optimized for low throughput, long or short distance
• Sufficient indoor penetration and coverage

 NB-IoT Is One of the Best Solutions for LPWA because of the Following Advantages.

• Improved indoor coverage
• Low power consumption
• Massive connections
• +20dB better than GSM
• 10Yrs battery life
• 50K connections per cell

  

 

Application Fields

● IoT Public 
IoT public focuses on LPWA applications that serve the general public, such as smart metering, alarms & event detectors and smart garbage bins.
IoT Appliance
Management becomes more efficient through improvements in big data analysis. IoT appliance mainly comprises of LPWA applications that aim to provide intelligence for the user through sensors and devices that are found in the local area.
● IoT Personal
IoT personal largely features LPWA applications that create a personal area network for the purposes of information exchange for the user, such as wearables, smart bicycle and kids monitoring.
● IoT Industry
IoT Industry mainly delivers low power wide area applications that help to improve general enterprise and industrial efficiency, including logistics tracking, asset tracking and smart agriculture.

The Advantages of Quectel LPWA Modules

• Compact-sized NB-IoT and NB-IoT/eMTC module
• Ultra-low power consumption
• Super high sensitivity
• Compatible with Quectel GSM/GPRS module, easy for future upgrading
• Embedded with abundant Internet service protocols
 
Source: http://www.quectel.com/technology/lpwa.htm