Licensed LPWA: scaling IoT in the 5G era

Recent announcements from Deutsche Telekom have important implications for the future of licensed LPWA. The operator has increased the reach of its NB-IoT and LTE-M networks via a series of roaming agreements, which is significant considering that coverage, roaming and interoperability are among the key challenges for scaling licensed LPWA. In partnership with The Things Industries, a global LoRaWAN network provider, Deutsche Telekom has also brought LTE-M connectivity into the LoRa gateway. Historically, operators have only supported licensed, 3GPP-standardised technologies. However, the value of IoT lies in data rather than connectivity alone, and to succeed in the IoT space, operators need to embrace new roles in the IoT ecosystem – one of which is the role of an orchestrator.