Divergence and Convergence in Emerging LPWAN Connectivity Protocols: Attitudes and Advantages

In the continuing push for digitalization, IoT may no longer be a new concept but is still at the forefront of the enterprise push to future-proof designs, increase revenue, and decrease cost. Key in that decision-making process is selecting the right connectivity protocol. The number of available options has grown, and yet there is still no single one-size-fits-all solution.

An Omdia survey sponsored by Silicon Labs proves this out: on average, every enterprise is using 2-3 different technologies today, from cellular to Amazon Sidewalk, and Wi-Fi to Wi-SUN. That’s no surprise when every vertical and regional market brings its own unique characteristics, challenges, and types of enterprise to the table. For example, utilities have large deployment sizes but very tight cost control, so easy integration is important. Or that deployments in India saw the biggest disruption from the supply chain in recent years, pushing back ROI from investments and therefore heightening focus on quick deployments on future projects.

With so many competing challenges and technologies for connectivity, it’s no wonder that 1 in 4 enterprises still worry that they’ve made the wrong connectivity choice even on their existing deployments. Sometimes though, that challenge is awareness – particularly as newer solutions come to market. For example, our survey reveals that 39% of enterprises are not aware of Wi-SUN, and 45% are not aware of Amazon Sidewalk - despite strong use of Wi-SUN in Smart Cities/Utilities, and huge growth expected for Amazon Sidewalk in the next two years.

According to our survey, detailed here in Divergence and Convergence in Emerging LPWAN Connectivity Protocols: Attitudes and Advantages, the two most important factors are performance and security – by a considerable margin – even higher than cost. And for both the 1 in 4 who remain concerned about making the wrong choice and the 3 in 4 who are still using a changing mix of several technologies, having a trusted partner to support the journey is key in making the most from an enterprise IoT investment. This whitepaper takes an in-depth look at the established and emerging protocols driving LPWAN by protocol, specific regions, and markets.