Multi-RAT for IoT: The Potential in Combining LoRaWAN and NB-IoT

The broad range of requirements of IoT applications has led to the development of several dedicated communication technologies, each tailored to meet a specific feature set. A solution combining different wireless technologies in one device can overcome the disadvantages of any individual technology. The design of such multi-RAT solutions based on the diverse characteristics of the technologies offers interesting opportunities. We have assessed both the potential gains and the overhead brought by a multi-RAT solution. To that end, we have evaluated key IoT node requirements in function of payload size and link quality: energy efficiency, coverage, payload size, latency performance, QoS, and cost efficiency. Our assessment and experimental validation of these features show the merits of a multi-RAT solution. Notably, energy consumption in use cases with only sporadic large payload requirements can be improved by a factor of at least 4 with respect to single-mode technologies. Moreover, latency-critical messages can get delivered on time, and coverage can be extended elegantly where needed.