Low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technology represented by NB-IoT and LoRa has become the hottest and most eye-catching part of the Internet of Things in recent years. In some occasions, NB-IoT or LoRa have become synonymous with the Internet of Things. As if a project does not have a relationship with NB-IoT or LoRa, it is not an IoT project. However, although NB-IoT and LoRa have emerged and started commercialization in recent years, the idea of ​​such a low-power wide-area network is not new, and applications that have a clear need for low data throughput have been in use for more than 30 years. History. In fact, before the cellular network was commercialized, some industries used M2M to implement low-rate terminal networking, using dedicated wireless data networks, which have similar topologies to today's low-power wide-area networks. Network architecture, some of which are still used in some niche scenarios until today.

Evolution and transformation over 30 years

Since the 1980s, low-power wide-area networks have begun to sprout around the world, and some technologies have formed networks that have grown to larger applications. More typical include:

(1) Globalized low-rate data network DataTAC

DataTAC is a narrowband data network technology originally developed by MDI (MobileData International). The narrowband wireless network ARDIS network using this technology is a joint venture invested by Motorola and IBM in the early 1980s. Designed for data transmission applications, this network runs on the 800MHz spectrum at a data rate of 19.2 kbps and is best known for its greater penetration than high-speed networks. In addition to pagers and BlackBerry mail, ARDIS has a wide range of applications in other areas, such as security, fleet tracking, credit card authorization and sales automation.

Specifically, ARDIS is a clustered wireless data communication network that cannot be used for voice communication. The network operates between 806 MHz and 821 MHz on the upstream and between 851 MHz and 866 MHz on the downstream with a 25 KHz channel spacing. At that time, ARDIS had a certain size, and 400 of the largest cities in the US Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSAs) were covered, covering 90% of the city's core business districts and 80% of the total population. ARDIS is also known as a global network. It has branches in the UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. For example, Telstra and Hutchison Telecommunications have deployed ARDIS networks in Australia and Hong Kong. Between 1995 and 1996, ARDIS has more than 44,000 customers worldwide (mostly corporate customers), and its capacity has exceeded its limits in individual regions, but ARDIS will increase capacity and coverage as demand increases. .

In the present view, ARDIS rates are very high, for messaging services, from a monthly minimum of $39 (including 100 messages) to a monthly $139 platinum package (containing 650 messages), for Non-message applications that charge 6 cents per packet or 3 cents per 100 bytes of data. Such packages are not available for email. ARDIS has also done a lot of indoor depth coverage, and due to nationwide coverage, ARDIS users can roam seamlessly between major cities.

However, in the context of the time, ARDIS only provided data services, and at that time people had very strong demand for voice-based communication, and this network lacked the support of mainstream hardware equipment vendors such as Cisco, Ascend, Nortel, etc. The network can play a limited role. Later, both Motorola and IBM sold their shares to telecom operator American Mobile, which merged ARDIS customers into its deployed 2G network. This early low-power WAN network ended.

(2) Mobitex from Europe

Mobitex is also a narrow-band data communication technology developed by TeleverketRadio in Sweden in the 1980s. A few years later, Teleeverket Radio and Ericsson's joint venture owned Mobitex to further improve the technology. The joint venture was Eritel and later became a part of Ericsson. Subsidiary. Mobitex operates in the 400-450 MHz band in Europe and 900MHz in North America. The technology uses 12.5 kHz bandwidth to transmit data at a maximum rate of 8 kbps and a maximum coverage of 30 km. Mobitex began deployment in Sweden in 1986 and later expanded to the United Kingdom and the United States. Similar to DataTAC, in addition to paging and BlackBerry mail, it is also used for public transportation, security and a large number of M2M scenarios, including the 9/11 incident in the United States. Mobitex played a role in the 2005 Hurricane Rescue operation.

Mobitex is also a global network deployed in more than 30 countries on five continents (including small deployments in China) and has formed a large number of operators, such as RAM Mobile Data, BellSouth Wireless Data, Cingular Interactive in the US. Carriers such as CingularWireless and Velocita Wireless have Rogers Wireless in Canada and RAM Mobile Data in the UK. In the UK, Mobitex's largest application is in the automotive fault repair business. Almost all vehicle fault information is transmitted to the fault service organization using Mobitex-based gateway software. It is expected that more than 20 million faults and repair information will be used each year. Transmitted through it.

Similar to DataTAC, Mobitex has begun to decline in the shadow of an increasingly mature GSM network, and the application scenarios that can be provided continue to shrink. One landmark event was that on December 31, 2012, Sweden permanently shut down the Mobitex network.

(3) AlarmNet born for fire alarms

AlarmNet is literally related to the alarm. This wireless technology was developed by ADEMCO in the mid-1980s. It was a large American alarm equipment manufacturer at the time, and another in 2000. C&K, a well-known security company, merged to form Ademco Group and belonged to Honeywell. In 2004, the United States Andingbao Group officially changed its name to Honeywell Security Group.

AlarmNet has been similar to today's low-power wide-area network. It uses the 928MHz unlicensed band. This network is used to monitor the security equipment of Andingbao, and AlarmNet is used to send a small amount of data such as alarm signals, so the transmission rate is also Very low. At the time, AlarmNet had a certain scale, covering 18 major regions of the United States and about 65% of the urban population. Such a scale has formed a large network covering a wide area. However, in the late 1990s, 2G cellular networks became popular. It was found that cellular networks can be used to transmit data and audio, and the coverage is wide. The hardware cost is very low after the entire industry chain matures. Therefore, a large number of wireless devices are required to be used. 2G network, including the alarm system, so this network began to merge with the 2G network. However, to date, AlarmNet is still an important service content of Honeywell's alarm networking system.

The commercial use of NB-IoT and LoRa is not only the timing, but also the standardization and ecology.

It can be seen from the history of the above three technologies similar to low-power wide-area networks that the ultimate fate of these technologies is declining in the commercialization of 2G networks. Since the mid-1990s, the global deployment of GSM networks has provided a ubiquitous coverage, and hardware costs have been greatly reduced. 2G chip shipments have grown rapidly, and M2M services have begun to migrate to 2G networks. Commercial use of GPRS gives M2M services more data access opportunities. Many manufacturers embed GPRS modules in their devices. Module cost and traffic charges are getting lower and lower, and manufacturers can afford this cost. This phenomenon continues. For nearly 20 years.

At present, in the context of global operators using 4G as the mainstream network and preparing for commercial 5G, the withdrawal of 2G networks has been implemented or put on the agenda. The market prospects of the Internet of Things, especially the need for low-speed, low-power wireless scenarios, are increasing. At this time, low-power wide-area networks represented by NB-IoT and LoRa are filling this gap.

More than 30 years ago, DataTAC, Mobitex, AlarmNet and other low-power wide-area networks once formed a smashing trend from the fire of the stars, but were eventually extinguished by 2G networks. In my opinion, this change is due to the limited scene of M2M at that time, its network technology and 2G have obvious alternatives, and more importantly, the high standardization of GSM technology and the global industrial ecology will greatly limit the network deployment and operation. Reduced. DataTAC, Mobitex, and AlarmNet still insisted on closed technology. Only a few manufacturers supported it, and the lack of industrial ecology made it unable to compete with 2G. From the current point of view, NB-IoT and LoRa have paid attention to the construction of standardization and industrial ecology from the beginning, and the development of other mobile communication technologies has left room for application.

In the past 30 years, low-power wide-area networks have been rising and falling, and now they are starting to rise again. Where will the next 30 years go?

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