Reviewed and updated in October 2026.
After short-range communication, this part of our IoT series moves to long range: technologies that cover longer distances, from dense cities to isolated rural areas, for growing numbers of devices that may be static or on the move.
This is part 3 of our IoT series, following Internet of Things (IoT) and IoT Communications, Short Range.
A Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) is a type of wireless wide-area network designed for long-range communication with low-power IoT devices. Devices connect to a private or commercial wireless network or to a third-party cloud infrastructure.
For long-range IoT communication, there are two main families: non-cellular and cellular networks.
Long Range (LoRa) is a non-cellular radio technology in unlicensed spectrum used to build private or public LPWAN networks. LoRa is the modulation technique (physical layer); LoRaWAN is the protocol that manages network communication on top of it. LoRaWAN is maintained by the LoRa Alliance. Devices need an LPWAN gateway to communicate.
Sigfox is a global public LPWAN that lets organizations deploy IoT devices without building their own infrastructure. After the original company went into insolvency in 2022, Singapore-based UnaBiz took over the technology and network operations; the network now runs under the name Sigfox 0G. Devices need a compatible radio module (not compatible with LoRa) and a subscription, but no gateway of their own. Sigfox is built for very small messages: up to 12 bytes per uplink message at 100 bit/s, or 600 bit/s in some regions.
As 5G spreads, operators in most countries are switching off their 2G and 3G networks; in Germany, the 3G networks were shut down in 2021. Two mobile technologies were developed specifically for IoT, often called Mobile IoT: NB-IoT and LTE-M. Both run on existing LTE infrastructure and remain usable alongside 5G.
NB-IoT is an LPWAN radio technology deployed over mobile networks. It offers very good indoor coverage for large numbers of devices, uses low-cost radio modules and allows long battery life. It is widely deployed in Europe and Asia. NB-IoT is best suited to static devices that send small amounts of data, because devices have to re-register when they move between cells. Devices do not need a gateway to reach their back-end server.
LTE-M (Long Term Evolution for Machines, also LTE Cat-M1) reuses existing 4G/LTE infrastructure and offers data rates of around 1 Mbit/s with low latency, as well as voice over LTE (VoLTE). It supports handover between cells, so no data is lost while a device is moving. That makes LTE-M the better choice for mobile and roaming devices such as asset trackers or vehicle telematics. Subscriptions are available from mobile operators, just as for smartphones.
Some devices use several technologies at once. Asset trackers often combine a cellular modem, which sends data from anywhere, static or moving, with a local radio such as LoRaWAN or Bluetooth that collects readings from attached sensors, for example door, temperature or humidity sensors. When this article first appeared, BlackBerry Radar was an example of this design.
The values are typical figures; actual range and throughput depend on region, operator and configuration.
| Sigfox | LoRaWAN | NB-IoT | LTE-M | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | unlicensed | unlicensed | licensed | licensed |
| Network | public | private or public | public | public |
| Range | up to approx. 13 km | up to approx. 11 km | up to approx. 15 km | up to approx. 11 km |
| Data rate | 100 bit/s (600 bit/s in some regions) | up to approx. 50 kbit/s | up to approx. 150 kbit/s | approx. 1 Mbit/s |
| Payload per message | 12 bytes | up to 243 bytes | up to 1,600 bytes | IP packets |
| Security | AES 128-bit | AES 128-bit | 3GPP (128/256-bit) | 3GPP (128/256-bit) |
| Mobility | limited | limited | static devices | handover and roaming |
For LoRaWAN, community networks such as The Things Network add public coverage in many countries. Availability of NB-IoT and LTE-M depends on the operator, so check coverage and roaming agreements for every country where your devices will operate.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for IoT communications. You can, however, select a technology that covers most of your use cases. Sometimes you will run two IoT networks side by side, and an aggregator helps: ISEC7 SPHERE monitors IoT devices and connects their data to tools such as Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow or BlackBerry AtHoc, as described in IoT Device Management Made Easy. If your cellular IoT devices use eSIM, read Demystifying Technology: Embedded SIM (eSIM).
The final part, IoT Communications, Conclusion, brings everything together with deciding factors and use cases.
Would you like help reviewing your IoT communication options? Our team supports endpoint management projects end to end. Contact us with any questions.