A huge proportion of devices will not require 5G or even 4G speeds and capacity, yet 2G is retiring – what are the options for lower end apps?

It’s clear that deploying a sensor to alert a municipality when a waste bin is full doesn’t need the capacity or low latency of 5G. However, it does need the coverage that cellular networks offer today, even though the capacity of low power wide area networks (LPWANs), such as narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) or LoRa networks, would be sufficient to send out a simple alert message every few days.

2G would traditionally be the go-to network for this sort of app but in the US the technology has already commenced its retirement and, in Europe, a similar pattern will emerge as operators refarm 2G spectrum for 5G and other services. LPWANs are becoming more attractive as coverage fills out and the benefits of low power consumption are better understood in IoT device design.

Executive insights from 1NCE CSO Alexander Bufalino