A webinar discussing the costs associated with building an internet of things solution with various LPWAN technologies: LTE-M, NB-IOT, Ingenu, Sigfox, and more. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) solutions are also considered.

1. Cost of Building
With LPWAN
Technologies
7/6/17
Thanks for joining: We will begin at 2 minutes past 12PM EDT, to allow
everyone time to join.

2. Cost of Building
With LPWAN
Technologies
7/6/17

3. Agenda
• Elements of Cost
• Network and Wireless Technology Options
• Use Case Examples:
• Asset Tracking with GPS
• Asset Tracking with Bluetooth
• Meter Reading
• Smart Building (Thermostat)

4. Before we begin…
This webinar is about how to think about cost.
We are not making firm claims about actual costs. Just notional ones.
Use the thinking and methods presented here to build your own models.

5. Have a question or
comment?
Live Chat
Question not answered?
forum.link-labs.com

6. Who is Link Labs?
• IoT Technology Company – based in Maryland, USA
• Build and integrate complex industrial and enterprise IoT systems.
• Focused on location: www.AirFinder.com
• LTE Cat-M1, Symphony Link (LoRa), and Bluetooth Low Energy
• Interested in how we can help? webinar@link-labs.com

7. Elements of Cost
• Development Costs
• Hardware Design and Prototyping
• Industrial Design and Mechanical
Engineering
• Firmware Development
• Software / Application Development
• Design for Manufacturing
• Testing
• Certification

8. Elements of Cost
• Development Costs
• Hardware Design and Prototyping
• Industrial Design and Mechanical
Engineering
• Firmware Development
• Software / Application Development
• Design for Manufacturing
• Testing
• Certification
 Electrical Schematic
 PCB Layout
 Modular vs. ”Chip-Down”
 Multiple “Spins”
 Form Factor Considerations
 Antenna Selection
 Component Selection
 DFM and DFT
Engineering Outsourcing:
$10 - 30,000 USD
Prototype Spin:
$100-200 / each

9. Elements of Cost
• Development Costs
• Hardware Design and Prototyping
• Industrial Design and Mechanical
Engineering
• Firmware Development
• Software / Application Development
• Design for Manufacturing
• Testing
• Certification
 Look and Feel
 IP Rating
 Shock and Vibration
 Heat Management
 Connections
 Batteries
 Antennas
Engineering Outsourcing:
$20 – 100K USD
Mold Development:
$5– 20K USD

10. Elements of Cost
• Development Costs
• Hardware Design and Prototyping
• Industrial Design and Mechanical
Engineering
• Firmware Development
• Software / Application Development
• Design for Manufacturing
• Testing
• Certification
 Linux vs. RTOS vs. Bare
 Kernel Development
 Boot Loader
 Flash Variables
 Firmware Updates
 Test Modes
 Debug Modes
 Logging
Engineering Outsourcing:
$10 – 100K+ USD

11. Elements of Cost
• Development Costs
• Hardware Design and Prototyping
• Industrial Design and Mechanical
Engineering
• Firmware Development
• Software / Application Development
• Design for Manufacturing
• Testing
• Certification
 Platform vs. DIY
 Cloud Hosting
 IAAS
 Frameworks
 Scalability
 Requirements Management
 MVP
Engineering Outsourcing:
$10 – 100K+ USD

12. Elements of Cost
• Development Costs
• Hardware Design and Prototyping
• Industrial Design and Mechanical
Engineering
• Firmware Development
• Software / Application Development
• Design for Manufacturing
• Testing
• Certification
 Supply Chain
 Sourcing
 Assembly

13. Elements of Cost
• Development Costs
• Hardware Design and Prototyping
• Industrial Design and Mechanical
Engineering
• Firmware Development
• Software / Application Development
• Design for Manufacturing
• Testing
• Certification
 EMI
 Usability
 Unit Testing
 Edge Cases

14. Elements of Cost
• Development Costs
• Hardware Design and Prototyping
• Industrial Design and Mechanical
Engineering
• Firmware Development
• Software / Application Development
• Design for Manufacturing
• Testing
• Certification
 FCC / IC
 ETSI
 UL
 Carrier
$3,000 - $100,000+

15. Elements of Cost
• Manufacturing Costs
• Contract Manufacturing
• Lead Times / EOL
• Unit Testing
• Boxing and Shipping
• Warehousing
• Distribution

16. Elements of Cost
• Operational Costs
• Demos and Pilots
• Installations
• Support and Troubleshooting
• Returns and Repairs
• Connectivity Costs

17. Connectivity Options
• 3 Options
• Customer Supplied (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)
• Vendor Managed LPWAN (LoRaWAN, Symphony Link)
• Network Operator LPWAN (LTE-M, NB-IOT, Sigfox,
Ingenu, LoRaWAN)

18. Customer Supplied
Connectivity
• Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi
• Provisioning Problems
• Security Concerns
Sensor Phone Application
BLE Wi-Fi
LTE

19. How much data?
• Typical Sensor Messages are 10-200 bytes
• HTTP TCP Session adds ~900 bytes
• 1KB per message
• How to reduce overhead?

20. Technology Snapshot
LTE Cat-M1
• What is this?
• 1.4 MHz Frontend (vs. 20 MHz) + 1 Antenna
• 1 Mbps Half-Duplex
Less
Expensive
Chipset
Power Saving Mode (PSM)
Extended Discontinuous Reception
(eDRx)

21. Link Labs LTE-M
• Built in Power Control
• Data Consumption Control
• Simple UART API

22. LTE Cat-M1 Cost and Coverage

23. Technology Snapshot
NB-IOT
• How is this different?
• Cat- NB1
• 200 kHz
• Max 144 kbps uplink
• Half Duplex
• Chipsets could be slightly less than LTE-M1
• Trials in EU and China

24. Technology Snapshot
SIGFOX
• Narrowband psuedo-DBPSK (MSK)
• Hundreds of Uplink Channels
• Completely Asynchronous
• Transmit 3 times and hope
• Limited Downlink
• Uses “Stock” UHF RF Chips
• Limited US Coverage

25. Technology Snapshot
LoRaWANTM
• Based on LoRa PHY Technology
• Asynchronous Uplink
• “Dumb” Gateway, “Smart” Cloud
• Hybrid Business Model – Carrier + DIY
The LoRa® name, LoRa® logo and LoRaWAN™ are trademarks of Semtech Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries.

26. LoRaWAN Networks

27. LoRaWAN Collisions
Source: https://sites.google.com/a/wesdec.be/mweyn/lpwan Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307965130_A_Study_of_LoRa_Long
_Range_Low_Power_Networks_for_the_Internet_of_Things

28. Ingenu
• 2.4 GHz CDMA Technology
• Deployed in some parts of US
• Good LPWAN Features
• Limited supply of modules
• Legacy Technology
• Corporate / Company Risk

30. Technology Snapshot
Symphony Link
• Uses LoRa Hardware
• Different Protocol Stack
• Synchronous / Slotted
• Quality of Service
• 100% Acknowledgements
• Repeaters
• Firmware-over-the-air
• Multicast/Control
• Auto-provisioning
• No cloud needed

31. Cost to Connect
Module Connectivity Infrastructure
LTE-M $10-15 $3-5 / mo for 1MB
NB-IOT $7-12 <$1 /mo for 100kb
Sigfox $5-10 <$1 / mo
Ingenu $10-15 ?
LoRaWAN Public $9-12 $1-2 / mo
LoRaWAN Private $9-12 $0.25 / mo $500
Symphony Link $15 $0.25 / mo $500

32. Use Cases
• Asset Tracking with GPS
• Asset Monitoring with Bluetooth
• Meter Reading
• Smart Building
• Consumer Monitor Device

33. Asset Tracking with GPS
• Hardware (@10K):
Battery $5
Case $5
MCU $1.50
GPS System $6
PCB/Misc $5
Assembly $4
Packaging $3.5
------------
$30.00 (No Radio)
• Total costs with radio:
LTE-M $45.00
NB-IOT $42.00
Sigfox $40.00
LoRaWAN $42.00
• Connectivity (3 year):
Assume 1 positon per 15 minutes
LTE-M $144
NB-IOT $200
Sigfox $36 (Too many xmit)
LoRaWAN $36 (Too many xmit)
• Development- $200K
• Loaded cost per unit/ mo @ 3 years:
LTE-M $5.80
NB-IOT $7.28
Sigfox $2.67 (Too many xmit)
LoRaWAN $2.72 (Too many xmit)
Note: Firmware, Control, Network

34. Asset Tracking with
Bluetooth
Location API Application
LTE Cat-M1
Symphony Link

35. Asset Monitoring with Bluetooth +
Symphony Link
• 500 Sites
• 100 Sensors per Site
• 50,000 Sensors
• $10 BLE Sensor Cost
• $500 Gateway Cost
• $15 / mo per Gateway
• $200K Development
• $0.68 / mo / sensor

36. Meter Reading
• Hardware (@10K):
Battery $5
Case $5
MCU $1.50
PCB/Misc $5
Assembly $4
Packaging $3.5
------------
$24.00 (No Radio, no sensor)
• Total costs with radio:
LTE-M $39.00
NB-IOT $36.00
Sigfox $34.00
LoRaWAN $36.00
• Connectivity (3 year):
Assume 1 Message per Day
LTE-M $108
NB-IOT $27
Sigfox $36
LoRaWAN $36
• Development- $200K
• Loaded cost per unit/ mo @ 3 years:
LTE-M $4.64
NB-IOT $2.31
Sigfox $2.50
LoRaWAN $2.56
Note: Firmware, Control, Network

37. Smart Thermostat
• Hardware (@10K):
Case $5
Screen $7
MCU $1.50
PCB/Misc $5
Assembly $4
Packaging $3.5
------------
$26.00 (No Radio)
• Total costs with radio:
LTE-M $41.00
NB-IOT $38.00
Sigfox $36.00
LoRaWAN $38.00
• Connectivity (3 year):
Assume 1 Message per 15 min
LTE-M $144
NB-IOT $200
Sigfox (Too many xmit) $36
LoRaWAN $36
• Development- $200K
• Loaded cost per unit/ mo @ 3 years:
LTE-M $5.69
NB-IOT $7.17
Sigfox $2.56 *
LoRaWAN $2.61 *
Note: Firmware, Control, Network

38. Conclusions
• Module costs are <5% of loaded cost.
• Data usage is largest variable cost.
• Some networks are not available.
• One-to-many architectures can save most $

39. Follow Up
• webinar@link-labs.com
• Forum.link-labs.com