Emerging 4G low-power wide-area (LPWA) standards, such as Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and LTE-M, represent massive new growth opportunities in the IoT world. They make device hardware far more cost-effective, fueling the market demand for all things connected. As a result, the IoT market is expanding quickly.
The rapidly growing number of connected devices creates some challenges for network operators and IoT leaders, including:
- Dense and congested networks.
- Performance challenges.
- Possible interferences.
These and other challenges must be addressed to keep an IoT deployment working correctly. For that, you need a dependable, efficient data transfer system. LPWA networking standards like LTE-M and NB-IoT have requirements that differ from other cellular connectivity such as 2G, 3G and regular LTE. Typically, LTE-M and NB-IoT are used for low-power, battery-based devices, so it’s crucial to choose a protocol that can run efficiently on them.
Comparing Efficiency: LwM2M vs. MQTT
While MQTT remains easier to implement and procure, LwM2M offers dramatic savings in data transfers and power consumption. According to research from MachNation:
- On the initial connection, LwM2M transfers 72% less data than MQTT.
- In a steady-state device connection, LwM2M transmits 31% less data.
- When the device reports observations at a rate of twice per minute, LwM2M uses 88% less data.
- When sending a single platform-to-device message, LwM2M uses 17% less data.
LwM2M Provides Significant Cost Savings
To illustrate, imagine that every device in a deployment of 25,000 units consumes 2 MB of data per month using MQTT. Assuming a 50% reduction in data usage with LwM2M, each device will use only 1 MB per month over its 36-month lifetime. If the data costs $0.80 per megabyte, the total savings will be $720,000 over the devices’ three-year lifetime.
A Clear Advantage
LwM2M is an ideal choice for IoT deployments using 4G LPWA standards like NB-IoT and LTE-M. That’s why Telit has incorporated LwM2M into more of our solutions and services, including Telit OneEdge™.
Visit our LwM2M overview page to learn more about LwM2M and its ability to enable low-cost remote management for your use case. Check out our webinar, “Mid-Large IoT Deployments: Tools You Need to Guarantee Success,” to solve the challenges around scaling your deployment.