LPWAN Market

LPWAN Market Outlook (2023 to 2033)

Smart cities, smart metering, smart lighting, asset monitoring and tracking, precision agriculture, livestock monitoring, energy management, manufacturing, and industrial IoT deployments are just a few of the applications that frequently use LPWANs.

The term "Low Power Wide Area Network" refers to a network created to interact wirelessly with less power than other networks like satellite, cellular, or WiFi, rather than a specific technology.

In recent years, wireless technology has distinguished itself as a top wireless connectivity option for the Internet of Things (IoT). Due to its strong performance traits, LPWAN is a superior choice to conventional wireless technologies. Even while providing wide-area coverage, it is built to consume less power.

Furthermore, because of its fundamental differences in how it operates from conventional connectivity options, it is becoming more and more widely used in machine applications.

Usually, it allows devices to exchange even small messages over long distances and it still maintains a low energy consumption that allows these devices to work for many years and even on small batteries. These networks are capable of solving problems and meeting the needs of sensible applications in various domains such as healthcare, environmental monitoring, and wildlife monitoring.

What are the drivers of demand in this market?

Manifold Advantages over Traditional Connectivity Options Triggering Adoption of LTE-M and NB-IoT. The penetration of LTE-M and NB-IoT networks is growing in this world which demands instant and seamless connectivity, owing to their numerous advantages over traditional cellular connectivity options.

LTE-M and NB-IoT networks offer longer battery life targeting up to a decade, and provides supreme coverage for IoT devices located underground and deep inside buildings while reducing module and deployment costs considerably.

As a result, companies are increasingly gravitating towards these networks, which, in turn, is bringing traction to the broader market.

Cost-effectiveness is the main factor driving the market

The adoption of LPWAN, which uses existing mobile radio networks to connect endpoints kilometers apart at low cost and with little power consumption, is growing rapidly.

Because the transmission over this network is around 10 times less expensive than through GPRS or 3G, the cost efficiency associated with LPWAN continues to be a critical growth driver for stakeholders. Also, the technological aspects of the current LPWAN technologies are fascinating.

In addition to having a long battery life and a large coverage area, Low powered WAN technologies are dependable and affordable. These four features are not currently combined by any other technology. Moreover, these are less sophisticated than standard cellular mobile phone technology, which makes network administration considerably simpler.

What are the restrictions for this market?

It cannot be utilized for large data rate applications because it only supports modest data rates. There is a lot of latency between the end nodes. As a result, low-latency applications are not appropriate. Moreover, the initial cost of investment could be higher as it required technically skilled people which further stimulates the labor cost.

Moreover, since these are also wireless communication networks, they are naturally vulnerable to security risks. For LPWAN, secure communication is crucial, and the majority of those systems employ straightforward cryptography techniques. Despite these security measures, it is susceptible to a variety of assaults.

What are trends in the market?

LPWAN is changing the Connectivity WAN-Scape

LPWAN technologies have significantly transformed the Wide Area Network (WAN) connectivity space for IoT devices, as they provide low data rates and extensive-range communication capabilities while maintaining low power consumption and low cost for silicon transceivers.

As LPWAN technologies are beneficial for asset tracking and geolocation services, they are witnessing wide adoption. Several IoT applications require geolocation, and such technologies provide location information at various levels of accuracy without utilizing any additional sensing elements.

These growing benefits of this technology in the world advancing towards better connectivity could favor the growth of stakeholders.

Competitive Landscape

The environment is in constant flux because it is a relatively young technology and is still in its infancy. With the abundance of participants in the market and the lack of knowledge regarding the rate of market expansion, it is difficult to predict who the winner(s) will be. Each variant's long-term performance is also unknown because several are still in the early stages of rollout and large-scale real-world testing has not yet been finished.

Manufacturers likely to face growth challenges in this market in the forecast period

The development of a sustainable business remains challenging for vendors in the market, owing to the comparatively low barriers to entry of the market, coupled with the prospect of low returns from connectivity. For the operators focusing solely on connectivity, without offering any other capabilities or solutions, size will remain crucial.

To lead in a market, even the largest operator should benefit from greater economies of scale, while being able to place intense pricing pressure on other smaller networks.

However, end-to-end solutions and selling capabilities demand strong skills, and potentially a comprehensive understanding of specific industry sectors, that several network operators lack. As a result, the potential of LPWAN is vast, but the stakeholders are required to make bold strategies to establish a sustainable durable business.

Recent Developments

Some of the leading players in the market are SIGFOX, Vodafone Group PLC, Link Labs, Semtech Corporation, Senet, Inc., Samsara Networks Inc., WAVIoT, NWave Technologies, Actility, Flashnet Communications Inc., Weightless SIG, Ingenu, Proximus SADP, and LORIOT.

Notable developments in the competitive landscape of the market include:

• In February 2019, Haxiot, a global leader in WAN solutions, has launched a new edge computing solution that enables seamless integrations with industrial gateway vendors to provide device management, connectivity, and data transformation of wireless technology.
• In February 2019, GSM Association announced the availability of mobile IoT across the globe in licensed spectrum across 49 markets.
• In December 2018, Quectel Wireless Solutions, a leading supplier of IoT modules, launched a new family of multi-mode modules BG77 and BG95, based on Qualcomm® 9205 LTE IoT modem.
• In September 2018, Vodafone, a British multinational telecommunications company, doubled the number of European cell sites that support NB-IoT standards, in a bid to expand its lead in the IOT.

Segmentation

• By Product :

  • SIGFOX
  • LoRaWAN
  • Weightless
  • NB-IoT
  • Others

• By applications :

  • Utilities
  • Smart City
  • Transportation and Logistics
  • Healthcare Applications
  • Others

• By Region :

  • North America 
  • Latin America 
  • Western Europe
  • CIS and Russia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Japan
  • Middle East and Africa