IoT Protocols Comparison
There is no one-size-fits-all connectivity technology that can provide an optimal solution for all IoT applications. It is a question of selecting the best-suited option for each use-case at hand.
The here-below comparison tables have been created by Haltian.
| Features | LTE Cat 1 | LTE Cat M1 | EC-GSM-IoT | NB-IoT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel Bandwidth | 1.4 MHz | 1.08 MHz | 200 KHz | 180 KHz |
| Transmission Duplexity | Full | Full/Half | Half (FDD) | Half |
| Downlink (DL) peak rate | 10 Mbps | 1 Mbps | 70 kbps (GMSK) – 240kbps (8PSK) | ~50 Kbps |
| Uplink (UL) peak rate | 5 Mbps | 1 Mbps | 70 kbps (GMSK) – 240kbps (8PSK) | 50 kbps (multitone) – 20 kbps (single tone) |
| Number of Antennae | 2 | 1 | 1 -2 | 1 |
| Latency range | 10-15 msec | 10-15 msec | 700 msec – 2 sec | <0.5 sec (1.4 – 10 secs) |
| Data limit | Not defined | Not defined | Not defined | Not defined |
| Size of payload in a data packet | Not defined | Not defined | Not defined | Not defined |
| Duty cycle | Not defined | Not defined | Not defined | Not defined |
| Data Encryption | EPS-AKA | EPS-AKA | UMTS AKA | (EPS-AKA) |
| Device Authentication | SIM | SIM | SIM | SIM |
| Voice communication support | VoLTE | VoLTE | GSM | No |
| Positioning | E-CDI | E-CDI | Cell ID | Cell ID |
| Standardization organization | 3GPP Rel8 | 3GPP Rel13 | 3GPP Rel13 | 3GPP Rel13 |
| UE bandwidth | 20 MHz | 1.4 MHz | 2.4 MHz | 200 kHz |
| Maximum Transmission power | 23 dBm | 20/23 dBm | 23/33 dBm | 20/23 dBm |
| Features | Zigbee | SigFox | LoRa | Google Thread | Bluetooth LE | Wirepas Mesh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel Bandwidth | 600 KHz – 5 MHz | 0.1 KHz100 Hz | 125 KHz | 600 kHz – 5 MHz | 2 MHz | 2 MHz |
| Transmission Duplexity | Half | Half | Half | Half | Full/Half | Full/Half |
| Downlink (DL) peak rate | 20 – 250 kbps | 100 – 600 bps | 300 bps – 50 kbps | 20 – 250 kbps | 125 kbps, 500 kbps, 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps | 1 Mbps |
| Uplink (UL) peak rate | 20 – 250 kbps | 100 to 600 bps (depending on the country) | ~300 bps – 50 kbps | 20 – 250 kbps | 125 kbps, 500 kbps, 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps | 1 Mbps |
| Number of Antennae | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Latency range | 15 msec | > 20 sec | 1 – 100 msec | < 100 msec,13.5 msec – 1 sec | < 3 msec, | < 10 msec |
| Data limit | Not defined | 140 msg/day uplink, 4 msg/day downlink | Not defined | Not defined | Not defined | Not defined |
| Size of payload in a data packet | MAC PDU 0 – 102 bytes | Payload 0-12 B uplink, 8 B downlink | Payload 51-222 B | MAC PDU 0 – 102 B | 0 – 2790 bits | 102 bytes |
| Duty cycle | <1% | <1% in some bands | Not defined | Not defined | ||
| Data Encryption | AES 128 | Private key, VPN+SSL | 128-bit NwkSkey/ AppSkey | TLS, DTLS,SHA-256 | AES-CCM, HMAC-SHA256, P256 ECDH, HMAC-SHA-256 | AES 128 |
| Device Authentication | Zigbee device authentication | Unique ID/ Private key | 64-bit DevEUI | EC-JPAKE | SAFER+, HMAC SHA256 | Authentication Key |
| Voice communication support | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Positioning | Yes | Sigfox Geolocation | Native positioning | iBeacon | Wirepas Positioning Engine | |
| Standardization organization | Zigbee alliance | Private company, open standard | LoRa alliance | Thread group | Bluetooth Special Interest Group | Private Company |
| UE bandwidth | 200 kHz | 125 kHz | ||||
| Maximum Transmission power | Case dependent (~0 dBm) | 22 dBm | 22 dBm | Case dependent (~0 dBm) | 0, 4, 20 dBm | < 10 dBm in EU, < 19 dBm in US |
Source and more: https://haltian.com/
