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Sigfox: Advantages and Disadvantages

wireless sigfox iot low power narrowband

This page covers the advantages and disadvantages of Sigfox wireless technology. It outlines Sigfox advantages (merits) and Sigfox disadvantages (demerits or drawbacks or limitations). This Pros and Cons guide of Sigfox is useful to understand the technology with respect to other existing low power and low throughput wireless technologies.

Sigfox Introduction

Sigfox is a low power and ultra-narrowband wireless technology used for wide-area networking of objects. In Sigfox, objects wanting to communicate simply send data to the Sigfox Gateway/Base Station, which decodes and sends it to the cloud. The cloud connects with IT servers via various interfaces depending on the application. Sigfox supports two-way communication between the object and the IT server based on the application. It covers a wide area and is used for low data rate applications.

Pros of Sigfox | Advantages of Sigfox

Following are the advantages of Sigfox:

  • It’s a lightweight protocol that handles smaller messages efficiently. It uses about 26 bytes to transport 12 bytes of data, resulting in less protocol overhead compared to conventional wireless systems. In conventional wireless systems, the IP stack uses about 40 bytes to transport just 12 bytes of data.

  • As there is less data to be transmitted, less energy is needed, enhancing battery life.

  • Due to less overhead, more space is available for user data to be transported, increasing the network capacity significantly.

  • Sigfox is an ultra-narrowband technology and can accommodate more channels in the same space compared to wideband wireless systems. This allows Sigfox to use the physical channel more efficiently, achieving greater network capacity.

  • Sigfox supports a wide coverage area and is used for low data rate applications.

  • Lower cost of network operations and ownership.

  • Higher budget link for improved coverage.

  • Used in many applications viz. smart city, metering, automotive, cellular connectivity to offload traffic etc.

  • The technology can help communicate with buried underground equipment.

  • The technology utilizes signal processing algorithms to protect against interferences of different kinds.

Cons of Sigfox | Disadvantages of Sigfox

Following are the disadvantages of Sigfox:

  • CSMA/CA or other such techniques for collision detection/avoidance are not used in Sigfox.

  • There are duty cycle limitations in Europe and PSD (Power Spectral Density) spectrum radiation limitations in Japan.

  • The narrowband spectrum emitted by a single Sigfox end device can cause strong interference to nearby existing wideband systems. More Sigfox devices will further enhance the interference.

  • Sigfox supports one-way communication without acknowledgment. This necessitates multiple transmissions if the server doesn’t receive data without errors, increasing power consumption depending on the number of retransmissions.

  • Due to low data rate support, it cannot be used for high data rate applications.

  • Sigfox system works well in fixed locations. There are issues such as interference and frequency inaccuracies in mobility environments.