Reviewed and updated in October 2026.
Over the last three parts of this series, we looked at what IoT is and at the short-range and long-range technologies IoT devices use to communicate. This final part brings it together: the network topologies, the factors that decide which technology fits, and three example use cases.
Catch up on the earlier parts: Internet of Things (IoT), IoT Communications, Short Range and IoT Communications, Long Range.
IoT devices use three main network topologies:
Most industrial long-range technologies use a star topology with a similar structure:
The best technology is the one that fits your own requirements. A door sensor at home does not need the bandwidth or power of a 24/7 IP surveillance camera at an airport or a GPS tracker on a shipping container.
Choosing the right technology comes down to three factors:
IoT devices are spreading in industry, transportation, healthcare and law enforcement. Three examples show how the factors play out.
A gated community wants IP video cameras for 24/7 surveillance on its premises. The video is streamed to a secured back-end server in the building's maintenance room, both for backup and for real-time display on a mobile device or computer through a web browser or dedicated app with individual credentials. Building and pedestrian entrances and shared areas such as swimming pools and parking lots need coverage, with as little cabling as possible for aesthetic reasons. Power sockets can be provided through the existing electrical wiring.
Recommendation: Wi-Fi, because large amounts of data travel wirelessly over a fairly short distance.
A shipping company wants to track its containers by GPS in real time along the delivery route by ship, truck or rail. It also wants additional data such as the temperature and humidity inside the container and whether the door is open or closed.
Recommendation: LTE-M. The devices are moving and must send data over long distances from anywhere in the world, which requires handover and roaming. NB-IoT is designed for static devices and is a poor fit while containers are in transit. The tracker itself may also use LoRaWAN or Bluetooth to collect data from sensors attached to the container, such as temperature or door sensors.
A mall wants a smart parking solution that shows customers, in real time on large screens, how many spaces are free on each floor of the garage. Battery-powered sensors in the ground detect whether a space is occupied and send this to a back-end server, which processes the data and updates the screens on every floor.
Recommendation: Both LoRaWAN and NB-IoT are viable, since both penetrate deep indoors. Because the devices are static, used locally and report often, LoRaWAN may be the better option. A dedicated LoRa gateway has to be installed, but device management is easier than provisioning every sensor with an eSIM for NB-IoT and managing those subscriptions with one or more operators. More on that in Demystifying Technology: Embedded SIM (eSIM).
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for IoT communications. Select the technology that covers your use cases, even if that means more than one. An IoT aggregator helps you keep the overview: ISEC7 SPHERE monitors your sensors across IoT deployments, evaluates their data against thresholds you define and passes alerts to existing tools such as Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow or the crisis communication platform BlackBerry AtHoc. Examples from power meters to door and temperature sensors are described in ISEC7 SPHERE Expands Its Capabilities: IoT Device Management Made Easy; an early application is ISEC7 SPHERE IoT for smart buttons.
Would you like help reviewing your IoT communication options or connecting IoT devices to your existing processes? Our team supports endpoint management projects end to end. Contact us with any questions.