Low-Power, Wide-Area (LPWA) Networks Address a 'Sweet Spot' in IoT according to Strategy Analytics

BOSTON, Sept. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Low-Power, Wide-area (LPWA) networks are opening new M2M use cases where connectivity costs are expressed in dollars per year rather than dollars per month. LPWA networks seek to address a sweet spot of high coverage with minimal power consumption and low coverage, impacting industry verticals such as advanced healthcare and utilities according to a new Strategy Analytics report "Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) Networks - Technologies, Players, and Opportunities". The study examines technologies and use cases within and beyond the scope of cellular M2M.

Click here for the report: http://bit.ly/1lz8z2H

LPWA connections are forecast to have a high growth rate as part of the Internet of Things (IoT), growing from 11 million in 2014 to just over 5 Billion in 2022.

Low-Power, Wide-Area technology opens up the possibility of non-cellular, horizontal WAN players (e.g. Neul and SIGFOX), with unique use cases such as low-power tracking.

"LPWA network vendors will face new challenges - they have to balance expanding their networks with growing revenue from a business that has long life cycles and potentially lower revenues per connection than cellular M2M. Many cellular providers have established relationships and operations globally in the M2M space and can exploit synergies with selective partnerships in the LPWA space" said Andrew Brown, Director of Enterprise Research at Strategy Analytics. 

Local Area technologies such as ZigBee mesh can be combined with cellular backhaul to address wide-area use cases as a hybrid network. Hybrid networks are being successfully used by application builders and providers to address vertical solutions e.g. smart street lighting and parking.

"There are a number of positions that service providers with M2M strategies can assume to take advantage of LPWA solutions. For example, BT has (re)gained a position as wireless service provider by operating the NeulNET in the UK – NeulNet is an LPWA network using the Weightless standard" added Brown

The largest revenue generating opportunity in LPWA by 2022 will be in Asia-Pacific at $4.6 Billion, followed by North America and Western Europe.

About Strategy Analytics

Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides the competitive edge with advisory services, consulting and actionable market intelligence for emerging technology, mobile and wireless, digital consumer and automotive electronics companies. With offices in North America, Europe and Asia, Strategy Analytics delivers insights for enterprise success. www.StrategyAnalytics.com 

European Contact: Andrew Brown, +44(0) 1908 423 630, abrown@strategyanalytics.com

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