As there are more and more types of wireless communication technologies, there are more and more choices for customer, but different communication technologies have different characteristics, and we will choose suitable solutions according to the characteristics.
Common wireless communication technologies:
- Bluetooth
- Wi-Fi
- Technology based on IEEE 802.15.4 (Thread, Zigbee)
- Z-Wave
- Cellular low-power wide area network technology (NB-IoT, LTE-M)
- Non-cellular low-power wide area network technology (LoRaWAN, Sigfox)
Bluetooth
Bluetooth wireless communication technologies is a low-power wireless solution operating on the 2.4 GHz ISM frequency band. Over the years, Bluetooth technology has continued to expand, and now has great flexibility in terms of distance, bandwidth, and communication topology to meet the needs of different IoT applications.
Bluetooth echnical details:
There are currently two different Bluetooth radio options: Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy module (Bluetooth LE). Classic Bluetooth (or BR/EDR), the original Bluetooth radio, is still widely used in streaming applications, especially audio streaming. Bluetooth Low Energy is mainly used for low-bandwidth applications where data is frequently transmitted between devices. Bluetooth Low Energy is known for its extremely low power consumption and its popularity in smart phones, tablets and personal computers.
Bluetooth Low Energy is divided into point-to-point, Star Topology, mesh Topology and broadcast topologies. In the mesh topology, nodes are directly connected without communicating with other nodes through the hub. Nodes can send data and information to other nodes outside the communication range of the original source node, expanding the network coverage in a large area. Related Bluetooth products： Silicon Labs Bluetooth Module SIG MESH | FSC-BT671
Wi-Fi technology
Wi-Fi wireless communication technologies is the brand name of all IEEE 802.11 standard wireless local area networks (WLAN). The working frequency band of Wi-Fi is usually 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz ISM, but newer versions of Wi-Fi also use other frequency bands.
Wi-Fi technical details
There are many versions of Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi Alliance recently adopted a new version numbering system: Wi-Fi 1 (802.11b), Wi-Fi 2 (802.11a), Wi-Fi 3 (802.11g), Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), Wi -Fi 5 (802.11ac) and Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax). The latest version can meet the needs of various applications, including longer distances, higher throughput and larger coverage. The most popular Wi-Fi topology is the star topology. But in the star topology, nodes can only communicate with each other through the hub.
Thread, Zigbee
IEEE 802.15.4 technology refers to the low-speed wireless personal area network (LR-WPAN) access layer.
Thread, Zigbee Technical details:
Thread and Zigbee wireless communication technologies are two technologies based on this specification. They are characterized by low power consumption and low data rate. IEEE 802.15.4 is mainly used in application scenarios where data is small, distance is short, and low power consumption is required at the same time. Although this technology also supports star topology, the most commonly used is mesh topology.
Z-Wave
Z-Wave wireless communication technologies was originally a lighting system control protocol, and later evolved into a home automation protocol managed by the Z-Wave Alliance.
Z-Wave Technical details
This proprietary technology uses 908/915 MHz in the US and 868 MHz in Europe. The different frequency bands are to avoid interference with the 2.4 GHz ISM band and expand coverage. This technology mainly uses a mesh topology. This technology is mainly used in smart home scenarios.
NB-IoT, LTE-M
LTE-M (LTE Cat-M1 or Long-Term Evolution for Machines) and NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) are both technical standards developed by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), and are used for cellular devices.
These two technologies will coexist with other 5G technologies and are expected to become part of a long-term 5G IoT strategy. 5G is the general term for the fifth-generation cellular mobile communication technology, representing a high-speed network of 2 Gbps (it can even reach 100 Gbps in the future). 5G technology will reduce network latency and expand coverage (in terms of the number of devices connected to the network at the same time).
NB-IoT, LTE-M Technical details
LTE-M and NB-IoT Wireless communication technologies are different in characteristics, so the suitable application scenarios are also different. NB-IoT is best suited for simple applications that require low power consumption and low bandwidth, while LTE-M is best suited for real-time and mission-critical applications due to its higher data rate. The main difference between the two is speed and delay (LTE-M has higher speed and lower delay).
NB-IoT and LTE-M mainly adopt star topology structure.
LoRaWAN, Sigfox
LoRaWAN is an open source wireless network protocol maintained by the LoRa Alliance. LoRaWAN is built on the basis of LoRa, which is a proprietary modulation format developed by Semtech.
LoRaWAN, Sigfox Technical details:
LoRa only defines the lower layers of the network stack, while LoRaWAN defines the higher layers of the network stack. LoRaWAN is just one of many protocols built on LoRa. LoRaWAN is classified as a low-power wide area network (LPWAN) technology, which can achieve remote communication between devices with low power consumption.
Sigfox is also an LPWAN technology, but it is a proprietary technology provided by the French company Sigfox. The company is the only network operator of this technology.
Comparison of wireless data transfer module technologies
