Long-Range Technology-Enabled Smart Communication: Challenges and Comparison

Abstract

Among other technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the promising technologies that will help us to make our environment smarter and gather, analyze and process sensor data without any human intervention. Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) is a technology that is part of the IoT, in which is the long-range (LoRa) technology that can provide wide coverage at a cost of very low power and that can boost data communication in our smart environment. The ease of their integration with the electronic system has opened a lot of new scope in the field of low-power wide-area networks in IoT applications. This paper provides a well-rounded review of LPWAN technology and in-depth details of LoRa technology. A good insight is given into the implementation of LoRa technology to design smart cities and the types of antenna technology used in LoRa data communications. Finally, a few open issues, possible solutions and future development are pointed out.