# Future Industrial Applications: Exploring LPWAN-Driven IoT Protocols
###### Abstract  
The Internet of Things (IoT) will bring about the next industrial revolution in Industry 4.0. The communication aspect of IoT devices is one of the most critical factors in choosing the device that is suitable for use. Thus far, the IoT physical layer communication challenges have been met with various communications protocols that provide varying strengths and weaknesses. This paper summarizes the network architectures of some of the most popular IoT wireless communications protocols. It also presents a comparative analysis of some of the critical features, including power consumption, coverage, data rate, security, cost, and quality of service (QoS). This comparative study shows that low-power wide area network (LPWAN)-based IoT protocols (LoRa, Sigfox, NB-IoT, LTE-M) are more suitable for future industrial applications because of their energy efficiency, high coverage, and cost efficiency. In addition, the study also presents an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) application perspective on the suitability of LPWAN protocols in a particular scenario and addresses some open issues that need to be researched. Thus, this study can assist in deciding the most suitable IoT communication protocol for an industrial and production field. Internet of Things (IoT); LPWAN; LoRa; Sigfox; Z-Wave; NB-IoT, LTE-M; RedCap 2020-000-0001-  
deployment of IoT devices has some requirements that differ from conventional wireless telecommunication requirements. For example, a huge factor of IoT systems is scalability from a number of devices' points of view. One of its characteristics is the massive number of devices it incorporates in a network, and it performs upon frugal power consumption by inexpensive devices [7]. According to Figure 1[5], we have found that current trends and future trends both show that wide area protocols and short-range protocols-supported devices are mainly used while cellular protocols-supported devices are comparatively less in use. Considerable research [8; 9; 10] has supported the idea that for broad areas and long ranges, primarily industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band-based LPWAN protocols are superior to cellular IoT protocols. Three of the key requirements of IoT technologies are low power consumption and long-range communication at low cost [11; 12]. In addition to these, parameters like data rate, security, link budget, and others should also be taken into consideration [13]. Different technologies occupying IoT telecommunications fulfill these requirements differently. Some of them offer a better range, while others offer lower power consumption. In order to decide which technology should be the most suitable in a certain deployment environment, it is essential to place these parameters side by side and obtain a clear view. Some of the most popular IoT communication protocols used today are Z-Wave, LoRa, the Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Sigfox, Long Term Evolution for Machines (LTE-M), and the 5G New Radio (NR)-based new protocol named Reduced Capability (RedCap). On one hand, there are IoT protocols like Lora, Sigfox, and Z-Wave that operate in the unlicensed ISM spectrum [14]. LoRa is a deep-rooted exclusive framework in the IoT business that utilizes the Macintosh-level convention LoRaWAN and offers long reach and an extraordinary geo-inclusion [15]. Sigfox is one of the least power-consuming IoT frameworks right now [16]. On the other hand, systems like NB-IoT, LTE-M, and RedCap make use of the licensed frequency spectrum [17; 18], resulting in higher power consumption but better quality of service. NB-IoT is a high-quality IoT technology that operates on a licensed spectrum and was made available in the 3 rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) Release 13[19]. It can support a large number of devices in a single cell, has a larger coverage area, has low device complexity, and offers flexibility in deployment [20].