The backbone of IoT is a network of connected, smart devices. These devices communicate with each other to collect and exchange data to make intended devices function the way users want.
IoT in smart lighting and its varied applications has drastically improved performance and efficiency resulting in better user experience. Being a connected system, smart lighting components like drivers, controllers, gateways, app interfaces, and cloud solution need to communicate with each other.
Having said that, which communication technology will these smart devices use to exchange data or information? Can those smart devices we mentioned support and function with all prominent communication technologies in the market?
Smart devices that support multiple communication protocols are mentioned as interoperable devices and interoperability today is a key factor discussed more than ever before. Many such wireless communication technologies and protocols exists which pose strong competencies within their field of operations.
What is wireless communication protocol in IoT ?
The wireless communication protocol in IoT is the set of rules used to exchange data between electronic devices. Bluetooth, ZigBee, LoRa, NBIoT, WiFi, and Thread are the most commonly used protocols. Let’s explore each protocol in depth.
ZigBee
Since its active deployment in 2005, ZigBee has been an effective communication protocol for IoT networks. It can accommodate high node counts and achieve range capabilities up to 900 ft. ZigBee is attributed with benefits for low power consumption, high scalability, strong security, and durability. It also employs destination-based routing making it a strong mesh network alongside being robust, resilient, and flexible.
The IEEE 802.15.4 standard protocol is ideally designed for home automation and for large industrial deployments like Bluetooth. There are numerous ZigBee certified products for home automation and a vast range of user base developing ZigBee compliant products.
Advantages of Zigbee
- Better scalability
- Randomization
- Long battery life
Better scalability
ZigBee offer better scalability with impressive number of devices up to 65,000 besides enormous coverage despite the relatively low range of individual modules.
Randomization
ZigBee uses randomization that allows continued communication reliability of ZigBee applications even when the network is dense.
Long battery life
Its efficient Low power capabilities enable “implement and forget” approach as it can reach for months after deployment.
ZigBee 3.0, the latest release, combines several ZigBee wireless standards with all their features into a single package. It’s now being best deployed in urban areas for street lighting and electric meters that require low power consumption. Read More about ZigBee.
LoRa
LoRa is used as a wide area network technology and LoRaWAN is a low power, wide area networking (LPWAN) protocol based on LoRa Technology. Long Range Wide Area Network is primarily designed for long-range, battery-operated wireless IoT devices.
Since its inception in 2015, it is best deployed in regional, national, and global networks. It is known for its capabilities to communicate across long-ranges with the least power consumption and detect signals within a range of low-to-high signal levels.
It’s is specially designed to accommodate millions of devices besides supporting low-cost mobile secure communication in IoT, smart city, or industrial applications.
Advantages of LoRa
- Long range
- Bi-directional communication with high security
- Seamless go-to-market
Long range
Allows robust communication up to 10 miles without wired connections.
Bi-directional communication with high security
LoRa system is recognized for its security assurance of both devices and network.
Seamless go-to-market
LoRa comes with an all-inclusive technology package providing end-to-end integration from implementation to services.
This protocol is interoperable besides being flexible in allowing solutions to scale or evolve, a reason why it’s adopted in diverse use cases and lighting application models.
Read More about LoRa.
NB-IoT
Classified as a 5G technology, Narrow Band IoT is specifically designed for networks that require low bandwidth to support massive connection density. The system provides extended coverage with low latency besides ensuring a tried and time-tested security features. Since it’s standardization in 2016, NB-IoT has been deployed in scenarios with demanding requirement for extended coverage like in rural and deep indoors. Besides, it also attributes ultra-low device complexity and is considered as an ultimate solution to connect massive scale of devices in a single deployment.
Advantages of NB-IoT
- Best-in-class battery life
- Wider deployment
- Reliability
Best-in-class battery life
NB-IoT consumes least power to offer the industry’s best battery life of more than 10 years.
Wider deployment
With lower bitrates, better link budgets, and capabilities to provide connectivity without gateways will enable wider deployments across varied applications.
Reliability
Since NB-IoT operates in a licensed spectrum, security and reliability are guaranteed besides quality of service.
WiFi
Among all IoT communication protocols, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) is the most popular for wireless local area network. Based on IEEE 802.11 standard, WiFi enables robust communication between connected devices within the range of 115-230 ft. This system requires low infrastructure or device cost besides supporting easy deployments and is best employed for indoor applications and home automation.
Since its inception, this technology tries to be the most ubiquitous wireless communication technology and it is continuously scaling to improve its range and speed.
Advantages of WiFi
- Data security and privacy protection
- Easy to install and connect
- Faster data transfers
Data security and privacy protection
Encrypted and secure data communication has made WiFi a powerful technology in modern security and access control system for a small and large building and organizations.
Easy to install and connect
WiFi employs simple steps to connect devices and easy-to-install processes delivering user convenience and easy usage.
Faster data transfers
Its Wide range infrastructure support hundreds of megabits per second for abilities to allow huge amounts of data transfers.
WiFi is based on the IEEE 802.11 standards with its first version released in 1997 having capabilities of delivering up to 2Mbit/s link speeds.
Thread
Specially designed to address the unique interoperability, security, power, and architecture challenges in the IoT, thread is a low-power wireless mesh networking protocol. It has capabilities to connect thousands of IoT components and includes strong security features by default. Based on IEEE 802.15.4 radio standards, the communication protocol can self-heal and reconfigure, upon adding or removing devices.
Advantages of Thread
- Makes direct connection
- Flexible platform
- Seamless integration with large networks
Makes direct connection
Thread compliant devices can make direct connections to other devices they interoperate with, without the need for proprietary gateways or translators.
Flexible platform
Thread is application-layer agnostic which allows its ecosystem to scale, grow, and evolve with the industry demands.
Seamless integration with large networks
Allows direct device to communicate regardless of the connectivity technologies they use like ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular, or LTE.
As an advanced communication technology, Thread is successfully adopted by hundreds of leading IoT solution providers. It has been best deployed in technologies that are transforming home and building lifestyles.
Bluetooth Low Energy
Bluetooth Low Energy is an enhanced Bluetooth version for short-range IoT communications of up to 300 ft. It’s among the mostly used wireless technologies in smart lighting and other IoT applications since its inception in 1989.
Bluetooth evolved rapidly to roll out Bluetooth core specification version 4.0 in 2010 introducing Bluetooth Low Energy. It torched the era of smart lighting and smart connected IoT.
This open standard technology is considered a reasonably secure wireless technology that encrypts communication signals, at both network and application level, to prevent casual eavesdropping from out-of-network devices.
Advantages of Bluetooth Low Energy
- Low latency and better responsiveness
- Scalability
- Reliability and robustness
Low latency and better responsiveness
High data transfer rate prevents latency and frequency hopping minimize out-of-network interferences
Scalability
Bluetooth Low Energy can scale to connect thousands of lighting devices without single point of failure
Reliability and robustness
Supports many-to-many communications simultaneously between all devices in a network for fast and reliable data transmission even in large device network
Bluetooth Mesh, a network standard based on Bluetooth Low Energy, is regarded as robust and reliable, establishing itself as a solid communication framework.
The Bluetooth Low Energy’s Mesh Model Specification support cross-vendor interoperability and complies with all major operating systems. Besides, it also enables easy onboarding of large number of devices. Read more about Bluetooth Mesh Model.
It’s managed by a single entity, Bluetooth SIG, empowering it to quickly and independently make changes or modification to Bluetooth technology to meet scaling industry demands compared to other leading wireless communication technologies.
IoT Communication Protocol Comparison Table
Protocol | Frequency | Range | Data Rate | Power Draw | Topology | Proprietary or Open? | Managed By |
ZigBee | 2.4GHz | ~ 900 ft | 250 kbps | Low | Mesh | Open | Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) |
LoRa | T150MHz-1GHz (lots of option) | up to 10 miles | 50kbps | Low | Star | Open | LoRa Alliance |
NB-IoT | Below 1GHz | ~20 miles | 100kbps | Low | Star | Open | 3GPP, Ericsson, Huawei |
Wi-Fi | 2.4GHZ/5GHz | 115-230 ft | 7Gbps | High | Star | Open | IEEE |
Thread | 2.4GHz | 115-230 ft | 250kbps | Low | Mesh | Open | Thread Group (Google, Samsung, etc.) |
Bluetooth Low Energy | 2.4GHz | ~300 ft | 125 Kb/s to 2Mb/s | Low | Point to point, | Open | Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) |
As experts of IoT, we believe that these are the wireless protocols most prominent in the IoT space.
There are more technologies making impressive contributions to this space with their own proficiencies in their field of focus. As the future is headed towards interoperability, enterprises planning a buying option should look for interoperable devices that comply with these communication technologies.
Conclusion
Based on calculated examinations and comparison, we believe that that the best communication protocol is the one that can be widely deployed, accepted, and has clearly defined use-cases. Before signing a new project, customers should not invest time to find the “best” option; instead, they should go for a “best-suitable” option.