###### Abstract  
Addressing the recent trend of the massive demand for resources and ubiquitous use for all citizens has led to the conceptualization of technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities. Ubiquitous IoT connectivity can be achieved to serve both urban and underserved remote areas such as rural communities by deploying 5G mobile networks with Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN). The current architectures will not offer flexible connectivity to many IoT applications due to high service demand, data exchange, emerging technologies, and security challenges. Hence, this paper explores various architectures that consider a hybrid 5G-LPWAN-IoT and Smart Cities. This includes security challenges as well as endogenous security and solutions in 5G and LPWAN-IoT. The slicing of virtual networks using software-defined network (SDN)/network function virtualization (NFV) based on the different quality of service (QoS) to satisfy different services and quality of experience (QoE) is presented. Also, a strategy that considers the implementation of 5G jointly with Weightless-N (TVWS) technologies to reduce the cell edge interference is considered. Discussions on the need for ubiquity connectivity leveraging 5G and LPWAN-IoT are presented. In addition, future research directions are presented, including a unified 5G network and LPWAN-IoT architecture that will holistically support integration with emerging technologies and endogenous security for improved/secured smart cities and remote areas IoT applications. Finally, the use of LPWAN jointly with low earth orbit (LEO) satellites for ubiquitous IoT connectivity is advocated in this paper. 2022020202202222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222212222212222122221222212222122212222122221222122212221222212221222  
ultra-low latency, massive machine-type communication (mMTC) for IoT applications. On the other hand, remote areas and rural communities do not have adequate infrastructure to support their agribusiness, broadband access, telemedicine, distance education, etc. Leveraging 5G networks in remote or rural areas will certainly improve these remote areas' applications. 5G is relatively deployed in mid-bands and millimeter-wave bands. These bands have a medium to short propagation range with low penetration power rate properties, which requires a lot of infrastructures to achieve complete coverage for both urban and remote areas (rural communities). However, ubiquitous IoT connectivity can be achieved to serve both urban and underserved remote areas by deploying a 5G network with Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN). This will enable billions of smart devices to interconnect autonomously and support massive machine-type communication (mMTC) services and IoT applications such as connected cars, smart metering, smart homes, smart cities, smart agriculture, smart health care, and sensors [1,2]. The entire scenarios of applications supporting industrialization with urbanization and remote areas will be difficult since applications will require smarter, easier, reliable, faster, and more scalable architecture than the conventional ones. A proper IoT architecture is required to fully support emerging IoT applications and services in terms of security and ubiquity interconnectivity. Historically, the communication aspect of IoT makes use of short-range communication technologies such as ZigBee, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi, and GSM. Recently, long-range, low-power, and low-cost devices, which are also called LPWAN devices such as LoRa, Sigfox, LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, etc., are now used for IoT connectivity [3]. Due to high service demand and data exchange, the current architectures will not offer flexible connectivity to many IoT applications. 5G, on the other hand, has been envisaged to support emerging technologies. However, due to infrastructural cost constraints, 5G alone cannot provide ubiquitous coverage.