Low power wide area network (LPWAN) protocols: Enablers for future wireless networks

Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) protocols are considered the enablers for the future of the Internet of Things (IoT) enabled networks. Examples of these networks are Internet of Things-Wireless Sensor Networks (IoT-WSNs), and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Many LPWAN protocols were introd...

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Main Authors: Ala’ Khalifeh, Aws Al-Qaisi, Khaled Aldahdouh, Waleed T. Al-Sit, Ayat AL Olaimat, Sahel Alouneh, Khalid A. Darabkh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Results in Engineering
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025019371
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author Ala’ Khalifeh
Aws Al-Qaisi
Khaled Aldahdouh
Waleed T. Al-Sit
Ayat AL Olaimat
Sahel Alouneh
Khalid A. Darabkh
author_facet Ala’ Khalifeh
Aws Al-Qaisi
Khaled Aldahdouh
Waleed T. Al-Sit
Ayat AL Olaimat
Sahel Alouneh
Khalid A. Darabkh
author_sort Ala’ Khalifeh
collection DOAJ
description Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) protocols are considered the enablers for the future of the Internet of Things (IoT) enabled networks. Examples of these networks are Internet of Things-Wireless Sensor Networks (IoT-WSNs), and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Many LPWAN protocols were introduced to meet the requirements of IoT-enabled networks in future wireless networks such as the Fifth Generation (5G) and beyond communication systems. Long transmission distance, power efficiency and low latency with reasonable bit rate are the most requirements of these networks. In this paper, the emerged wireless protocols, which are considered the potential infrastructures for the deployment of IoT-enabled networks such as IIoT and WSNs are presented. Particularly, Long Range Wireless Area Networks (LoRaWAN), Sigfox, Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Long Term Evolution for Machines (LTE-M) and Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) HaLow (802.11ah). The Physical and Media Access Control (MAC) layers of these protocols, and how IoT networks can be deployed utilizing these protocols are discussed. These protocols then are compared in terms of their potential for meeting the stringent requirements of IoT-enabled networks in terms of power consumption, network topology, communication range, spectrum utilization, data rate, channel bandwidth, and Quality of Service (QoS). Furthermore, other important technical details that can act as determining factors for adopting these protocols such as Time on Air, security, and deployment cost are discussed.
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spelling doaj-art-88076eddbe7f419fb3e2d84a1dfb6a9d2025-08-20T02:37:35ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-09-012710586610.1016/j.rineng.2025.105866Low power wide area network (LPWAN) protocols: Enablers for future wireless networksAla’ Khalifeh0Aws Al-Qaisi1Khaled Aldahdouh2Waleed T. Al-Sit3Ayat AL Olaimat4Sahel Alouneh5Khalid A. Darabkh6School of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, German Jordanian University, Amman, JordanCollege of Engineering and Technology, American University of the Middle East, Eqaila 54200, KuwaitSchool of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, German Jordanian University, Amman, JordanDepartment of Computer Engineering, Mu’tah University, Al-Karak, Jordan; Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai, , UAESchool of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, German Jordanian University, Amman, JordanSchool of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, German Jordanian University, Amman, Jordan; Al Ain University, Abu Dhabi, UAEDepartment of Computer Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan; Corresponding author.Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) protocols are considered the enablers for the future of the Internet of Things (IoT) enabled networks. Examples of these networks are Internet of Things-Wireless Sensor Networks (IoT-WSNs), and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Many LPWAN protocols were introduced to meet the requirements of IoT-enabled networks in future wireless networks such as the Fifth Generation (5G) and beyond communication systems. Long transmission distance, power efficiency and low latency with reasonable bit rate are the most requirements of these networks. In this paper, the emerged wireless protocols, which are considered the potential infrastructures for the deployment of IoT-enabled networks such as IIoT and WSNs are presented. Particularly, Long Range Wireless Area Networks (LoRaWAN), Sigfox, Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Long Term Evolution for Machines (LTE-M) and Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) HaLow (802.11ah). The Physical and Media Access Control (MAC) layers of these protocols, and how IoT networks can be deployed utilizing these protocols are discussed. These protocols then are compared in terms of their potential for meeting the stringent requirements of IoT-enabled networks in terms of power consumption, network topology, communication range, spectrum utilization, data rate, channel bandwidth, and Quality of Service (QoS). Furthermore, other important technical details that can act as determining factors for adopting these protocols such as Time on Air, security, and deployment cost are discussed.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025019371Industrial Internet of ThingsIIoTwireless networksLPWANLoRaWANSigfox
spellingShingle Ala’ Khalifeh
Aws Al-Qaisi
Khaled Aldahdouh
Waleed T. Al-Sit
Ayat AL Olaimat
Sahel Alouneh
Khalid A. Darabkh
Low power wide area network (LPWAN) protocols: Enablers for future wireless networks
Results in Engineering
Industrial Internet of Things
IIoT
wireless networks
LPWAN
LoRaWAN
Sigfox
title Low power wide area network (LPWAN) protocols: Enablers for future wireless networks
title_full Low power wide area network (LPWAN) protocols: Enablers for future wireless networks
title_fullStr Low power wide area network (LPWAN) protocols: Enablers for future wireless networks
title_full_unstemmed Low power wide area network (LPWAN) protocols: Enablers for future wireless networks
title_short Low power wide area network (LPWAN) protocols: Enablers for future wireless networks
title_sort low power wide area network lpwan protocols enablers for future wireless networks
topic Industrial Internet of Things
IIoT
wireless networks
LPWAN
LoRaWAN
Sigfox
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025019371
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