As mentioned earlier, no single technology can meet all the needs of IoT applications at the same time. The following will analyze the suitable application scenarios of NB-IoT and LoRa through several specific application examples.
A: Smart water meter
Companies and departments involved in the field of smart water meters require high-speed data transmission, frequent communication and low latency. And it is also necessary to conduct real-time monitoring of the line network so as to deal with hidden dangers in time. ClassC of LoRaWAN can achieve low latency, but NB-IoT is a more suitable choice for smart water meters for the needs of high transmission rate and frequent communication. And water meters are generally installed in fixed locations in densely populated areas, so it is also easier for operators to network.
B: Smart Agriculture
For agriculture, low-power and low-cost sensors are urgently needed. The application of temperature and humidity, carbon dioxide, salinity and other sensors is of great significance for agriculture to increase production and reduce water consumption. These sensors need to upload data regularly. LoRa is very suitable for such scenarios. And many remote farms or arable land are not covered by cellular networks, let alone 4G/LTE, so NB-IoT is not as suitable for smart agriculture as LoRa.
C: automated manufacturing
The operation of factory machines requires real-time monitoring, which can not only ensure production efficiency but also improve labor efficiency through remote monitoring. In automated manufacturing and production in factories, there are many different types of sensors and devices. Some scenarios require frequent communication and ensure good quality of service (QoS), then NB-IoT is a more suitable choice. In some scenarios, low-cost sensors with low-power and long-life batteries are required to track devices and monitor status. At this time, LoRa is a reasonable choice. So for the diversity of automated manufacturing, both NB-IoT and LoRa are useful.
D: Intelligent Building
For the renovation of the building, sensors such as temperature and humidity, safety, harmful gas, water flow monitoring are added and the monitoring information is uploaded regularly, which is convenient for managers to supervise and more convenient for users. Generally speaking, the communication of these sensors does not need to be particularly frequent or guarantee a particularly good quality of service, and portable home gateways can meet the needs. So LoRa is a more suitable choice for this scene.
E: Retail Terminal (POS)
Point-of-Sale (POS) systems tend to require more frequent and high-quality communications, and these devices usually have dedicated power supplies, so there is no requirement for longer battery life. At the same time, the timeliness and low latency of communication are required to be high. Therefore, NB-IoT is more suitable for this application due to the above considerations.
F: Logistics tracking
An important requirement in the tracking or positioning market is the battery life of the terminal. Logistics tracking can be a practical example of a hybrid deployment. The logistics enterprise can deploy the network in the required place according to the needs of positioning, which can be in the warehouse or on the transportation vehicle. At this time, the portable base station will come in handy. LoRa can provide such a deployment solution, but for NB-IoT, the laying of base stations with too large tracking range is a big problem. At the same time, LoRa has a feature that the communication is more stable than NB-IoT when moving at high speed. For the above considerations, LoRa is more suitable for logistics tracking.
There is no undisputed choice in the IoT field, and each application scenario has its own unique needs and considerations. Many enterprises are reluctant to give private data to others, so if the input cost is acceptable, enterprises would rather deploy their own private network and operate independently. The temptation of private network is huge. The development of Internet of Things technology is changing with each passing day. Each technology route has its own advantages and disadvantages. The key to the acceptance of the technology in the future depends on the market, but in the end, the entire industry chain and users will definitely benefit.