When discussing the coming 5G era, attention tends to focus on the promise of incredibly high speeds and low latency, as well as the ability to automate processes, vehicles and machines. While these are undoubtedly very exciting aspects of 5G, they are certainly not the only elements of 5G.

In fact, the 5G era is divided into three distinct network categories, each of which contains its own capabilities for different types of use cases. Before we outline these three parts, let’s define what 5G is. This article is about the new cellular technology specified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a standards cooperation organization focused on telecommunications. In recent 3GPP releases, 5G was specified, along with other networks based on different frequency bands.

This article is a series on 5G and its three distinct domains: massive machine-type communications (mMTC), enhanced mobile broadband (emBB), and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). Or more simply, as it relates to the Internet of Things (IoT), Massive IoT, Critical IoT, and Ultra-Reliable IoT.

Today we are on the cusp of witnessing the explosion of the 5G era, creating new use cases that have not yet been thought of. This is an exciting time for IoT and technology in general, as this enables digital transformation more effectively than ever before.

This article will focus on mMTC enabled by low-power wide-area (LPWA) networks and how it can contribute to the massive Internet of Things.

Mobile network operators have recognized the need for LPWA networks that allow billions of devices to connect while using less power, extending their lifetimes to 12 to 15 years. These networks they have designed are part of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) era, capable of co-existing with 4G and 5G, and even moving further towards 6G. Realize a truly connected planet as the "network within a network" approach takes hold.

Two other cellular networks entering the 5G era in this release are Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and Long Term Evolution for Machine Type Communications (LTE-M). Together they are classified as LPWA networks.

Let's say a farmer wants to install 500 soil sensors in his field to best support his crops. These devices have the power to change how farmers think about their soil, but with low complexity typical of telecommunications equipment. Farmers don't bury 500 high powered devices in the soil to measure moisture and acidity. The same goes for the network connections used to connect these devices to the internet. People don't need 4G LTE to pull small bytes of data every few minutes. This will be very expensive and the battery life will be very short.

This is where LPWA networks are important. It is designed to support these low-complexity devices, which spend most of their lifetime in sleep mode. It can power on, read data, transmit very small packets of data to the network, and then go back to sleep mode.

当2G和3G网络关闭时，LPWA网络将填补这一空白，但会进行增强。这些网络将提供适用于广泛的物联网解决方案的可达性，例如农业。LPWA网络一方面提供穿透性，比如地下管道和储罐监控；另一方面提供密度，比如在一个很小的区域内有数千个设备。最后，LPWA网络将提供寿命和经济实惠，因为设备可以在其整个生命周期(10年或更长时间)大量部署，且由于它们只传输小数据包，使用成本是非常可行的。

巨大的物联网机遇

这就是大规模物联网的代表。其含义就在于名称，大量的物联网设备将以数百个用例的形式连接到关键垂直领域的智能应用程序。

在物联网部署中连接成百上千台设备，能看到什么样的好处?回到农业的例子，设备不仅可以监测土壤，还可以监测空气质量，以帮助确保作物健康和营养。可以优化产量，简化用水，并在支持可持续性和提高产量的同时实现整体节约。

其他行业也不例外。在过去的几年里，物流业一直被围困，经济已经感受到供应链受到胁迫的影响。通过对从制造车间到渠道或门口的所有接触点的精细可见性，可以获得分析和情报，可以为这条重要的经济动脉建立敏捷性和弹性。

制造业、医疗保健、车队、公用事业、大学、商业校园等等——可以从一个连接开始，并有可能建立物联网帝国。

战略、安全与稳定

通过物联网，很容易看到一个数字化增强的世界。但事实是，我们有责任构建这些解决方案。如果没有适当的措施、战略和深思熟虑的建设，大规模物联网的好处是无法实现的。

由于有如此多的端点可能上线，因此进攻面更广，不同的行业对安全需求的风险偏好也不同。因此，解决方案应为长期构建，并具有可扩展潜力，以免目光短浅。这意味着在用例中为新技术和新应用构建弹性和安全性。

物联网可以彻底改变世界，而大规模物联网是积极变革的主要驱动力。组织可以准备必要的人员、平台、设备甚至第三方提供商来帮助取得成功。