IoT Connectivity: LoRaWAN, 5G, and Nordic NR+

IoT development is a continuously evolving field of study, and every industry or application we integrate IoT into has its own unique requirements. Choosing the proper connectivity solution is crucial. We might be deploying a network of sensors, enabling tracking and monitoring for transport logistics, or implementing smart city applications; all of these require different capabilities on the transport layer, such as range, power consumption, data rate, and scalability.
In this article, we will compare three transport layer protocols: LoRaWAN, 5G, and Nordic NR+, highlighting the strengths and trade-offs of each technology, alongside their relative time-to-market and development costs.

LoRaWAN: Low-Power, Long-Range for Low-Data Wide Area Networks

LoRaTM (Long Range) was developed by Cycleo, a French company, and patented in 2014. LoRaWAN networks tend to be arranged in a star-of-stars topology in which gateways relay messages between end-devices and a central network server. The connection between the server and the gateway is via standard IP. In contrast, the connection between end devices and gateways uses LoRaTM, which works in the unlicensed spectrum and is well-suited for battery-powered devices requiring long-range communication with minimal data transfer. It’s a protocol that executes a trade-off between data rate and range, which can be configured through a property called Spreading Factor (SF).

This table shows the approximate range, data rate, and airtime for each SF in Europe (EU868).

Pros:

• Low power consumption: Best for battery-operated sensors, which last for several years.

• Long range: Up to 15 km in rural areas and 2-5 km in urban environments.

• Cheap infrastructure: No licensing fees and minimal infrastructure investment.

• Well used: Widely adopted in smart agriculture, utilities (water/gas meters), and asset tracking.

Cons:

• Low data rate: It ranges from 0.3 to 50 kbps, making it suitable only for telemetry transmission, with a low refresh rate. Although the protocol's configuration can sacrifice reach for a higher bandwidth.

• High latency: Not suited for real-time applications.

• Low scalability: LoRaWAN networks can experience interference and congestion in crowded deployments.

When to use it:

• Smart meters and environmental monitoring

• Smart agriculture and logistics

• Industrial sensor networks

Costs and time to market

There are plenty of manufacturers in the LoRa ecosystem, such as Semtech (e.g., SX126x series), Murata, STMicroelectronics, etc.

DevKits Cost: ranges between USD 25 and a couple of hundred.

Module Cost: ranges between USD 2 and USD 8 per node.

GateWays Cost: This is quite expensive. If no LoRaWAN is yet implemented for our application, this aspect could be quite unappealing. We have to install a tall antenna of at least 15 meters and buy an expensive gateway, which ranges from USD 250 to USD 3000, depending on its capabilities.

Time-to-market: On average, it can go from 3–6 months with off-the-shelf modules.

5G: High-Speed and Low-Latency for Real-Time Applications

5G is the fifth-generation cellular network technology, it’s been deployed by mobile operators since 2019. As a cellular technology, it requires base stations or antennas to be installed, most of which belong to mobile operators. Therefore, as an IoT developer, we must contract their services to deploy our application. 5G is designed for lower latency, higher device density, and higher speed. But all these upgrades come at the expense of battery life.

5G Frequency Bands: Speed, Range & Power Consumption

5G Segmentation

One attractive aspect of 5G technology is that it allows for Network Slicing, a concept that distributes the network’s resources depending on the client. With this, each application can have its virtual network, dividing or slicing the same shared infrastructure, with each slice being differently configured to match the corresponding requirements.

For example:

• A self-driving car network slice might prioritize ultra-low latency and high reliability. 

• A smart city network slice may focus on massive IoT connectivity with power efficiency. 

• A streaming service network slice could emphasize high bandwidth and low jitter.

Pros:

• Low latency: Down to 1 ms, perfect for real-time control.

• High-speed: Goes up to 10 Gbps.

• High scalability: Supports up to 1 million devices per km².

• Network slicing: Enables customized network segments for different IoT needs.

Cons:

• High power consumption: Not suitable for battery-operated sensors requiring long lifespans.

• Infrastructure costs: Deployment is expensive due to licensed spectrum fees and high-density minor cell requirements. Plus, we must have a contract with mobile operators.

• Coverage limitations: limited range and penetration, requiring a dense network of base stations.

When to use it:

• Industrial automation (smart factories, robotics)

• Autonomous vehicles and real-time applications (AR/VR, remote surgery)

• Smart cities and connected infrastructure

Costs and time to market

Manufacturers for this technology are Qualcomm, SIScomm, and MediaTek, to name a few.

DevKits Cost: ranges between USD 100 and USD 900, with Qualcomm being the most expensive model.

Module Cost: ranges between USD 20 and USD 150 per unit.

Infrastructure cost: it's carrier-dependent. Most basic data plans start at USD 0.12 per MB.

Time-to-market: carrier approval and integration can extend this period from 12 to 18 months.

Nordic NR+: A Good New Compromise

Nordic NR+, developed by Nordic Semiconductors, is a new radio technology that, while not being a cellular standard in and of itself, uses cellular techniques to allow users to own their 5G-like private network, without the need for third-party contractors (mobile operators).

NR+ networks can be deployed in star, mesh, and point-to-point topologies. If the mesh topology is implemented, the protocol has self-healing and self-organizing capabilities, as each node has access to the internet. This allows each link to function as an access point and change roles, thereby resolving single points of failure and mitigating high-traffic situations.

NR+ utilizes the global and license-exempt 1.9 GHz DECT band, which reduces deployment costs by eliminating the need for frequency planning or certification from operators. It is highly scalable, with a claimed device density of up to 1 million per square kilometer.

Key Differences Between NR+ and Traditional 5G

Pros:

• Long-reach communication: Theoretically, up to 50 km in rural areas.

• Lower power consumption than 5G: Better suited for battery-powered devices.

• Operates in unlicensed spectrum: Reduced cost thanks to no licensing fees.

• More penetration than 5G mmWave: Better performance in obstructed environments.

Cons:

• Data rate not as high as 5G: not suited for heavy data transfer.

• Still in early development: Adoption and ecosystem support are limited.

• Lower data rates than cellular 5G: Not ideal for high-bandwidth applications.

• Limited availability: Not yet as widespread as LoRa or 5G.

When to use it:

• Industrial IoT and private networks

• Long-range smart city applications

• Smart agriculture and logistics

Costs and time to market

Nordic Semiconductors is the proprietor of this protocol, thus the only one offering compliant chipsets. They are the nRF9161, nRF9151, and nRF9131.

DevKits Cost: ranges between USD 90 and USD 200.

Module Cost: ranges between USD 16 and USD 30 per unit.

Infrastructure cost: it's carrier-dependent. Most basic data plans start at USD 0.12 per MB.

Time-to-market: this may vary depending on the regulations and scale of the deployment, ranging between 8 and 18 months.

Comparison Table

Wrapping Up

When working only with monitoring,  no automated responses are required, low-power requirements, and long distances, LoRa is your choice. If control measures must be triggered, high data rates for big data chunks (video, audio, etc) are needed, 5G is best suited. Then Nordic DECT NR+ is the in-between solution which also allows us to deploy a 5G like private network which could be entirely independent of cellular operators, with long-range, high-scalability and high data-rates.

IoT engineers must carefully evaluate the requirements of the data to be sent or the control measures to be executed, considering power consumption, network range, cost, and latency, to choose the best connectivity solution. As the industry evolves, hybrid approaches leveraging multiple technologies may become the standard for optimizing IoT deployments.