The new cellular standard for machine type communication (LTE-MTC) is an attempt to position cellular technology as the wireless technology of choice for the billions of devices predicted to make up the global IoT market.
While the new standard adapts cellular technology to the requirements of the Internet of Things, it isn’t the only technology hoping to build a dedicated following in the IoT space. Low-power wide area network (LPWAN) technology has emerged as a formidable competitor for cellular.
As the 3GPP has completed its work this year on the LTE-MTC standard, new chipsets based upon this standard are beginning to appear in the marketplace. Yet, the appearance of these new devices is no guarantee of their mass adoption. After all, SigFox, Ingenu, and LoRa Alliance members are already deploying networks based on LPWAN technology.
Will LPWAN become the dominant long-range, wide-area, IoT technology? Or, will the changes implemented in the new LTE-MTC standard make cellular the long range IoT technology of choice by IoT engineers?
What do you think of the prospects of cellular-based IoT? Will it grow in popularity in the next decade, or like some folks say, “cellular is not IoT.”
Voice your opinion and share your thoughts in the comments below.