In today’s digital era, connectivity is one of the key factors that can affect work efficiency and productivity in many industries. Network technology that can accommodate long-range communication with low power consumption is also increasingly needed. Technology of LPWA can creates a communication network with low power consumption and wide area coverage.
In this article we will discuss about LPWA technology and its regulatory control in Indonesia.
What is LPWA?
LPWA stands for Low Power Wide Area. It is a network technology that enables long-range communications with very low power consumption. LPWA also plays a vital role in connecting millions of devices, including sensors and smart meters, across multiple locations.
This technology is designed for applications that require small amounts of data to be transmitted over long range, such as asset tracking, environmental monitoring, and smart meter systems.
LPWA is designed to support the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, where devices such as sensors, smart meters, and tracking devices can operate efficiently over large areas with minimal interference.
How LPWA works?
LPWA devices is divided into non-cellular and cellular. Non-cellular LPWA is telecommunication devices with low power consumption and wide coverage that operate on radio frequency bands outside the cellular frequency band. Non-cellular LPWA devices consist of end node and gateway devices.
End node devices will send signals to and receive signals from gateway devices. Meanwhile, gateway devices function is to provide connectivity, management, and control to end node devices that have backhaul with other technologies. Backhaul is the process of transporting data from a smaller remote network back to the data center or central hub.
Below is an example of on-cellular LPWA devices configuration.
Imagine a temperature monitoring system in a factory. Temperature sensors (end nodes) will measure the temperature at various locations. The temperature data will be sent to the gateway. The gateway will forward the data to the application server for processing and storage.
Types of LPWA
As mentioned earlier, LPWA technology is divided into cellular and non-cellular, where each type of LPWA has its own standards. The differences between the two types of LPWA include frequency range, bandwidth used, connectivity range, and transmission speed.
Cellular LPWA is LPWA technology that operates within the cellular frequency band, while non-cellular LPWA is LPWA technology that operates outside the cellular frequency band. The types of cellular LPWA technology are LTE CAT-M1 and NB-IOT. Meanwhile, the type of non-cellular LPWA technology is LoRa.
- Cellular LPWA – NB-IoT (Narrowband IoT): NB-IoT is LPWA technology designed to support IoT device connections using cellular networks. This technology supports low data transfer rates (maximum 250 kbps), sufficient for applications that send small data such as sensors, electricity meters, or location tracking.
- Cellular LPWA – LTE-M (LTE Cat-M1): LTE-M is LPWA technology that uses cellular networks to support higher-speed IoT device connections. LTE-M supports data transfer rates up to 1 Mbps, higher than other LPWA technologies. This makes LTE-M suitable for applications that require higher data rates.
- Non-cellular LPWA – LoRa (Long Range): LoRa is LPWA technology that has a range of up to tens of kilometers in open areas and several kilometers in dense urban areas. LoRa operates on ISM frequencies without requiring a license, such as 868 MHz in Europe and 915 MHz in the United States.
Implementation of LPWA
LPWA technology is specifically designed for machine-to-machine (M2M) and IoT devices. LPWA enables low power consumption while maintaining long-range connectivity in devices distributed over a wide area. This technology is ideal for scenarios where IoT devices need to be connected in long-range as well as require reliability and efficiency.
With LPWA technology, IoT devices can operate for up to 10 years on a single battery charge. This duration is ideal for applications that have limited mobility and do not have access to a power source for recharging. Some of the appropriate use cases for LPWA include: smart meters, smart city, tracking and tracing, smart agriculture, and smart buildings.
Regulatory control for LPWA in Indonesia
As previously mentioned, LPWA is operated by utilizing radio frequency waves. Therefore, every device that has a LPWA feature should meet the applicable technical standards in Indonesia. Fulfillment of this compliance requirement is carried out by processing a product certification called DJID certification.
In Indonesia, cellular LPWA devices can work in the allowable frequency band of LTE. Meanwhile, non-cellular LPWA devices mostly can work in the frequency band of 920-923 MHz as mentioned in technical regulation KEPMEN KOMINFO NO 5 year 2024. Here are the technical requirements for non-cellular LPWA technology in Indonesia.
| Frequency range | Output power | Bandwidth | Duty cycle | Spurious emission |
| 433.05 – 434.79 MHz | < 16.4 mWatt EIRP | < 125 kHz | – | EN 300 220-1, EN 300 328 |
| 920 – 923 MHz | End Node: < 100 mWatt EIRP, Gateway: < 400 mWatt EIRP | < 250 kHz | End Node: Uplink < 1%, Gateway: Downlink < 1 % | EN 300 220-1, EN 300 328 |
| 2400 – 2483.5 MHz | < 1000 mWatt EIRP | < 1 MHz | – | EN 300 220-1, EN 300 328 |
The sample requirement for LPWA testing is conducted sample within test mode. During the testing, the lab will conduct measurement several testing parameters. If all LPWA testing parameters are passed, then the test report of LPWA can be used for the DJID certification process.
If you have any question related to DJID certification, please don’t hesitate to contact us by sending enquiry to info@narmadi.com.
