LoRa and 5G: Can they be used for IoT network connectivity at the same time?

There is no doubt that 5G is the new technology of the 2020s, and US operators such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are actively upgrading their nationwide networks to welcome this latest generation of cellular technology. At the same time, smartphone users and application developers are eagerly looking forward to significant throughput increases and latency improvements.

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What users and developers need to understand is that 5G is also well suited for highly distributed IoT projects. Advances in performance, capacity, and virtual segmentation bring new opportunities to enable capabilities that were previously unattainable with 4G and earlier cellular architectures. For IoT projects that require the immediate transfer of large amounts of data, 5G will be perfectly capable.

But what if your IoT project only needs to send small amounts of data over a wireless network? What if the data must be sent at specific intervals rather than in real time? If your IoT project only requires this type of wireless network, 5G would be overkill.

In addition, operators will deploy carrier-grade 5G only in densely populated areas, and will not consider remote areas, small towns, and inaccessible places, unless enterprises deploy their own private 5G infrastructure. But doing so is very complex and costly to deploy and maintain.

The shortcomings of 5G are exactly where Long Range (LoRa) and LoRaWAN wireless come into play.

What is LoRa?

LoRa is an unlicensed narrowband technology, which means narrower channel widths, which means cleaner transmissions, which means longer ranges compared to broadband alternatives, including carrier 5G. At the same time, it’s cheaper for enterprises to deploy large LoRa wireless networks – compared to 4G LTE and 5G.

The LoRa wireless standard is also highly energy efficient. IT teams can set up remote LoRa transmitters to transmit data intermittently on a fixed schedule, rather than constantly sending and receiving data in real time, so many LoRa devices can be powered by batteries for years. Therefore, if an IoT project requires the deployment of sensors in highly remote areas without electricity, LoRa is an excellent alternative to 5G.

LoRa and 5G: Friend or Foe?

LoRa and 5G are complementary wireless technologies. 5G is suitable for most bandwidth-intensive IoT deployments, while LoRa is suitable for IoT deployments in agriculture, oil and gas, utilities, and transportation industries. For these use cases, LoRa will be easier to deploy and manage, and will not be as costly as 5G.