IoT Analytics forecast the global number of connected IoT devices would grow to 12.3 billion active endpoints in 2021. That number is expected to grow exponentially in the near future as more and more industries make use of long-range wireless capability. For example, president Biden’s infrastructure plan promised major investment in smart cities and smart municipalities across the United States. 2022 will also see IoT growth in the manufacturing and utility sectors as ‘brownfield industries’ look to update their existing machinery for Industry 4.0. Both of these factors will bring about a massive surge in demand for low power wide area network (LPWAN) solutions using the long range wide area network (LoRaWAN) standard next year.
LoRaWAN is the standard protocol for LoRa wireless technology. LoRa was built specifically for long range use cases (it’s in the name). This means that technology using LoRaWAN requires significantly fewer repeaters and gateways to cover a large area, like a city, than would be required using traditional technologies. Additionally, LoRa is robust in how it responds to interference, and LoRaWAN sensors use less energy than other sensors, making them more efficient. In fact, ABI Research forecast that, by 2026, LoRa will be the leading non-cellular LPWAN technology.
In the grand scheme of IoT, LPWAN technology is relatively new. LoRaWAN became an open standard just six years ago when the LoRa Alliance was formed in 2015. This means the main challenge for IoT developers in 2022 and beyond will be educating themselves on the technologies needed to put LoRa-enabled plans into action. There are two big reasons why you should begin that process now: The rising demand for smart cities and Industry 4.0.
Building Cities Smarter
When it comes to infrastructure, roads and bridges might come to mind first, but in reality, infrastructure is much more holistic. Utilities like electricity, gas and telecommunications should all be included in any infrastructure discussion. These industries have already come to rely on IoT technologies to collect data and function in the modern world.
The government IoT endpoint electronics and communications market is expected to reach $21.3 billion in spending in 2022, according to projections by Gartner. As governments continue to modernize and implement more wireless technology, I expect a good amount of this money to go toward the development of solutions using LoRaWAN to create flexible networks on a very large scale for smart cities.
In fact, this movement has already begun. In September, the city of San Jose, California, announced its partnership with a blockchain-based provider to extend the city’s broadband access. In exchange, the city is now hosting and expanding its peer-to-peer IoT network infrastructure.
Updating Brownfield Industries for Industry 4.0
2022 will also see IoT advancements in ‘brownfield’ industries. These are industries with legacy, stand-alone machines and processes, such as in the manufacturing and utilities sectors, that weren’t originally created with internet connectivity in mind. Players in brownfield industries already have large install bases of machines that have no way of reporting status or other pertinent data.
These industries have long been looking at developing IoT solutions to solve this issue. Most are prototyping now with the goal of getting data to flow between large, legacy manufacturing machines with the end goal of improving manufacturing processes. However, unlike other industries where modern updates are often needed to improve efficiency, these manufacturers aren’t going to replace equipment that already gets the job done and has done so for decades. Instead, they need to find an alternate way to gather data and insights from the equipment they already have in place.
For many, LoRa-enabled sensors will be the answer. Often, upgrading to new technology requires equipment be substantially changed. That isn’t the case with LoRaWAN solutions, which allow manufacturers to add LoRa-enabled sensors to existing machines. LoRa-enabled sensors are durable, don’t require much maintenance and have low battery footprints. They also allow manufacturers to keep their data on-premises and on their own internal networks, a common preference for these types of industries. These characteristics make LoRa-enabled sensors ideal for manufacturing purposes.
In the new year, we will continue to see more pilot deployments go into production to help these industries gather the data they need to improve their processes and, in return, their bottom lines.
LoRaWAN Resources for Developers
The intention of the Biden administration’s high-tech infrastructure plans in the United States and the benefits of LPWAN (and LoRaWAN in particular) for private, long-range networks are converging to present a lot of great opportunities for this technology this year. That’s why 2022 will be the year IoT developers need to brush up on their knowledge of LoRaWAN.
If you are interested in learning more about LoRa, check out the LoRa Alliance or LoRa Developer Portal communities to get started.
