% 1 % Communication standards for IoT devices % in 4G/5G networks % • převzít kapitolu 1.1 % • doplnit grafy nárůstu IoT zařízení % 1.1 % Established communication standards for IoT de- % vices % • doplnit GSM, LoRa, Zigbee, Sigfox, Wifi, ESP32, 433 MHz % 1.2 % 4G IoT network standards (LPWAN) % • převzít kapitolu 1.2. % • doplnit kapitolu 1.2.3 Comparison of 4G LPWAN with established technologies % • zrcadlova lambda křivka % https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected/what-is-cellular-iot https://www.nordicsemi.com/P % power-cellular-IoT/Development-tools?lang=en#infotabs % 1.3 % 5G IoT network standards % • převzít kapitolu 1.3, doplnit 5G trojuhelník % • zestručnit kapitolu 1.3.1 URLLC, bez zbytečných detailů % 1.4 % DECT NR+ standard for 5G IoT networks % • Stary DECT a IP telefony, pasmo, HW vrstva, NR a teorie prenosovych % rychlosti % https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Wireless/DECT-NR?lang=en#infotabs % https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Wireless/DECT-NR/Applications?lang=en#infotabs % https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Wireless/DECT-NR/Related-publications?lang=en#info % https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected/could-dect-nr-democratize-massive-iot-in- % 5g https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ps_nrf9161/page/dect.html#ariaid-title4 % https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/nordic/nordic-blog/b/blog/posts/dect-nr-a-technical- % dive-into-non-cellular-5g https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected/the-next-step-for- % m2m-communications %\chapter{Communication protocols for IoT devices in 4G/5G mobile networks} \chapter{Communication standards for IoT devices in 4G/5G networks} \section{Established communication standards for IoT devices} \subsection{GSM (2G)} \ac{GSM} represents most prominent \ac{2G} standard of cellular network technology developed in the 1980s and adopted in . The most notable shift forward was the transition to digital form of communication. It was the first wildly adopted standard with \ac{SMS}. Initial deployment has began in 1990s with the peak of deployment in 2005. \cite{eu2Gna3G} %While it is nowadays a legacy technology superseded by later generation, it still remains essential in basic \ac{M2M} and human-to-machine communication. Such as alarms, automatic control of gates or municipal public address system. While superseded by 3G, 4G, and 5G, 2G remains essential in some regions for basic communication and \ac{M2M} applications. However, due to the advancement of technology, and the need for frequency space, many countries are planing shutting down their 2G networks in a controlled way. The outcome in some countries is shutdown of 3G before 2G and obligation from bureaus to mobile operators to keep 2G operational \cite{ctu2g}. \subsection{LoRa} \ac{LoRa} is a proprietary, spread-spectrum radio modulation technique developed by Semtech. It primarily operates within the sub-GHz unlicensed radio frequency bands, enabling long-range communication with minimal power consumption. \ac{LoRa} can be \cite{semtech}. \ac{LoRa} less often operates in 2.4 GHz ISM band, amateur radio bands or on private private frequencies. \ac{LoRa} physical layer modulation, based on \ac{CSS}, allows for robust data transmission in noisy environments and over extended distances. This technology is particularly well-suited for applications requiring low data rates and long battery life, such as environmental monitoring, asset tracking, and smart agriculture. \subsubsection{LoRaWAN} \ac{LoRaWAN} represents a \ac{MAC} layer protocol built upon the \ac{LoRa} physical layer. This protocol standardizes the communication architecture, network topology, and security mechanisms, enabling interoperability among diverse \ac{LoRa} devices and infrastructure. \ac{LoRaWAN} effectively extends the capabilities of the \ac{LoRa} physical layer by providing a comprehensive framework for network management and application development, thereby enabling the deployment of scalable and interoperable Low-Power Wide-Area Network solutions. The deployment of \ac{LoRaWAN} or LoRaWAN-like networks necessitates the implementation of dedicated gateway infrastructure, a characteristic that, conversely, affords enhanced control over network coverage compared to cellular technologies such as 4G and 5G which is dependent on mobile operators. % https://www.semtech.com/lora/what-is-lora \subsection{Wi-Fi} Wi-Fi, standardized under the IEEE 802.11, represents a most deployed \ac{WLAN} technology with at least 19.5 billion Wi-Fi devices in use around the world. It played fundamental role in \ac{IoT} implementation and innovations. Key characteristics are high data throughput, high bandwidth and usually short range \cite{wifi}. Because of this higher data throughput it requires higher power consumption, longer communication establishment and worse spectrum utilization for smaller payloads. This makes it ideal for data hungry application such as video transition and high speed measurement. Other key advantage of Wi-Fi is its ubiquity. This makes it valid option even in situations where usage of better suited protocol would require modification and/or investment in new infrastructure. Although Wi-Fi technology is predominantly utilized for short-range wireless local area networks, there are notable exceptions involving long-range deployments, such as those employed by ISPs and for low-cost \ac{P2P} remote communication. Notable extreme example of this is 279 km long unamplified Wi-Fi link in Venezuela\cite{adhocwireless}. % ct wifi https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/internet-things \subsection{Zigbee} Zigbee is a open wireless communication protocol specification, operating within the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, designed for low-bandwidth, low-power, short-range \ac{WPAN}. It is characterized by its mesh networking capabilities, which facilitate robust and scalable communication among numerous devices in close proximity. Its main application are smart home accessories and industrial sensors on sort range \cite{zigbee}. Zigbee primarily operates on 2.4 GHz band (in usual gaps between Wi-Fi channels) but can also operate on sub-GHz bands. It is similar to Z-Wave protocol. % ct zigbee https://www.digi.com/solutions/by-technology/zigbee-wireless-standard \subsection{Sigfox} Sigfox is a proprietary \ac{UNB} \ac{LPWAN} technology designed for low-throughput, long-range communication primarily targeting massive \ac{IoT} applications. Operating in unlicensed sub-GHz radio frequency bands, Sigfox employs an \ac{UNB} modulation scheme that enables robust communication over significant distances with extremely low power consumption. 2 This technology is particularly suited for applications involving the transmission of small, infrequent data packets, such as basic sensor readings and status updates, where extended battery life and wide coverage are paramount \section{4G IoT networks (LPWAN)} https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected/what-is-cellular-iot https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Wireless/Low-power-cellular-IoT/Development-tools?lang=en\#infotabs %IoT has become a large part of every day life and is now crucial to many both critical and non-critical applications. With planed shutdown of 2G and 3G networks [] it is important to look on protocols that are supposed to replace them and enhance their capabilities. \ac{LPWAN} protocols are 4G LTE wireless communication technologies that enable long-range transmission among IoT devices. \ac{LPWAN} protocols are designed to meet the diverse requirements of IoT applications, mainly low power consumption, wide coverage range, capacity for large number of devices, and high reliability \cite{gsmalpwan}. \colorbox{orange}{Kajsik zrcadlova $\lambda$ krivka} \\ \subsection{NB-IoT} \ac{NB-IoT} is a cellular \ac{LPWAN} standard that was developed by \ac{3GPP} for IoT devices and services in 2016 under \ac{3GPP} Release 13 and updated in 2017 with \ac{3GPP} Release 14 \cite{erf}. \ac{NB-IoT} focuses on providing extended coverage, enhanced capacity, reduced complexity, and increased battery life for IoT devices that transmit small amounts of data infrequently \cite{rohdenbiot}. \ac{NB-IoT} operates on the licensed spectrum and uses a subset of the LTE bands with peak data rate of 26 kb/s for downlink and 16.9 - 66 kb/s for uplink using Cat NB1. Newer standard of Cat NB2 allows maximum peak rate of 127 kb/s for downlink and 159 kb/s for uplink. NB-IoT uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation for downlink communication and \ac{SC-FDMA} for uplink communication. Single NB-IoT communication channel corresponds to a single 180 kHz LTE frequency block \cite{ltebook}. This enables the following operation modes \cite{rohdenbiot}: \begin{itemize} \item In-band operation - NB-IoT operates on standard LTE frequencies among other types of LTE communication \item Guard band operation - Communication takes place in LTE guard-band without any other LTE communication \item Stand alone operation - A theoretically possible scenario when mass adaption of technology will occur. This mode plans to utilize frequency allocation of current GSM networks. \end{itemize} \begin{figure}[!h] \begin{center} \includegraphics[width=0.9\textwidth]{obrazky/nbiotmodes.png} \end{center} \caption[NB-IoT modes]{NB-IoT modes of operation \cite{rohdenbiot}} \label{fig:nbiotmodes} \end{figure} As of writing this thesis (December 2023) NB-IoT is supported in Czechia by all three national mobile operators. Vodafone is declaring universal coverage across the whole country \cite{vodafonemap}, T-Mobile in selected larger cities and O2 only in Moravian-Silesian region \cite{narowbandcoverage}. %NB-IoT is a cellular LPWAN standard that was developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (\ac{3GPP}) for IoT devices and services and published in 2016 with \ac{3GPP} Release 13[] and its updated version in 2017 with \ac{3GPP} Release 14 []. NB-IoT operates on the licensed spectrum and uses a subset of the LTE bands with peak data rate of $26 kb/s$ for downlink and $16.9 \div 66\;kb/s$ for uplink using Cat NB1. Newer standart of Cat NB2 allow maximum peak rate of $127\;kb/s$ for downlink and $159\;kb/s$ for uplink. %NB-IoT uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation for downlink communication and single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) for uplink communication. NB-IoT focuses on providing extended coverage, enhanced capacity, reduced complexity, and increased battery life for IoT devices that transmit small amounts of data infrequently. % %As of writing this thesis (December 2023) NB-IoT is supported in Czechia by all tree national mobile operators. Vodafone is declaring universal coverage in whole state \cite{vodafonemap}, T-Mobile in selected larger cities and O2 only in Moravian-Silesian region \cite{narowbandcoverage}. % %\subsubsection{Modes of operation} % %Single NB-IoT comunication channel correspondes to single 180 kHz LTE frequency block \cite{ltebook}. This enables following operation modes \cite{rohdenbiot}: %\begin{itemize} % \item In-band operation - NB-IoT operates in standart LTE frequencies among other types of LTE comunication % \item Guard band operation - Communication occur in LTE guard-band where no prior LTE communication takes place % \item Stand alone operation - A theoretically possible scenaraio when mass adaption of technology will occur. This mode plans to utilizate frequency allocation of current GSM networks %\end{itemize} \subsection{LTE-M} LTE-M or LTE-MTC (Long-Term Evolution Machine Type Communication) is a second \ac{LPWAN} protocol specified in \ac{3GPP} Release 12, with improved specification in Releases 13 and 14. Unlike NB-IoT, LTE-M uses more bandwidth (1.4 - 5 MHz) and is capable of higher communication speeds (1 - 4 Mbit/s for downlink and 1 – 7 Mbit/s for uplink). Another advantage of LTE-M over NB-IoT is an ability to function with movable objects (such as cars or drones). Higher bandwidths however lead to greater circuit complexity and possible higher energy consumption related to it \cite{nordiccompare}. As of writing this thesis (December 2023) LTE-M is covered in Czechia by O2 in 98.5 \% \cite{o2catm} and locally by Vodafone \cite{vodafonemap}. %LTE-M or LTE-MTC (Long-Term Evolution Machine Type Communication) is second \ac{LPWAN} protocol specified in \ac{3GPP} release 12 with improved specification in releaes 13 and 14. % %Unlike NB-IoT LTE-M uses more bandwidth 1.4-5 MHz and is capable of higher comunication speeds (1-4 Mbit/s for downlink and 1-7Mbit/s for uplik depending on version). Another advantage is ability to function with movable objects (eg. cars or drones). Higher bandwidth leads to grater circuit complexity and higher energy consumption related to it. % %As of writing this thesis (December 2023) LTE-M is coverted in 98.5 \% in Czechina by O2 \cite{o2catm} and mostly by Vodafone \cite{vodafonemap}. \subsection{Comparison of 4G LPWAN with established technologies} \section{Cellular 5G IoT networks} \colorbox{orange}{Kajsik 5G trojuhelnik} 5G implementation into the mobile networks can be achieved via two methods \cite{5gnruk}: \begin{itemize} \item NSA (non-stand alone) - 5G features are achieved by adding new RAN (Radio Access Network) to existing 4G LTE core. This approach implements dynamic spectrum sharing and enables rapid deployment of enhanced mobile broadband in customer market without larger changes in existing infrastructure. \item SA (stand alone) - LTE core and RAN are completely replaced with 5G ones. RAN can however still switch back to LTE air interface to ensure backward compatibility with non-5G devices. \end{itemize} In 2018, \ac{3GPP} Release number 15 laid down 5G specification named 5G NR (New Radio). Unlike LTE-A Pro that has just added more features to 4G LTE and operated in LTE standards and channels, 5G NR introduced a new physical layer in air interface \cite{5gnruk}. 5G NR tries to solve three key aspects of wireless technology \cite{5gnruk}: \begin{itemize} \item eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband): Data-intensive applications needing large bandwidth for primarily traditional end-user demand, like video streaming. This should be achieved by Gigabit LTE, massive MIMO, mmWave technologies, spectrum sharing techniques and advanced channel coding. \item mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communications): Low-power and low-cost applications with small data volumes but potentially large number of these devices in a small footprint. It is built on LTE \ac{LPWAN} protocols like LTE-M and NB-IoT, making them potentially a core part of 5G. \item URLLC (Ultra-reliable and Low-latency Communication): Mission-critical applications traditionally possible only by direct wire connection, necessary for real-time control of autonomous vehicles and industrial machinery. \end{itemize} As of December 2023, 5G IoT networks are not yet commercially available in Czechia. %%%%%% \subsection{URLLC requirements} \colorbox{orange}{Zestrucnit} \\ URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication) is a new requirement for 5G networks for providing real-time communication protocols with very low delays and very high levels of reliability. First attempts to address this were introduced in 4G LTE HRLLC (Higher-Reliability and Low-Latency Communication) in \ac{3GPP} release 15 \cite{5gamericasurllc}. Until this point, aspects of latency and reliability were dealt in separately and sometimes were in direct contradiction to each other (reliability was achieved with repeated data redundancy, which multiplied latency). Combination of these two aspects is however essential for several critical applications with different requirements, as shown in table \ref{tab:urllc}: \begin{table}[!h] \begin{center} \small \begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|c|} \hline Scenario & E2E latency [ms] & Reliability [\%] & Data rate [Mbps] \\\hline\hline Discrete automation & 10 & 99.99 & 10 \\\hline Process automation – remote control & 60 & 99.9999 & 100 \\\hline Process automation ‒ monitoring & 60 & 99.9 & 1 \\\hline Process automation ‒ monitoring & 40 & 99.9 & 10 \\\hline Electricity distribution – high voltage & 5 & 99.9999 & 10 \\\hline Intelligent transport systems & 30 & 99.9999 & 10 \\\hline \end{tabular} \end{center} \caption[Performance requirements for URLLC]{Performance Requirements for Low-Latency and High-Reliability Scenarios \cite{5gamericasurllc}} \label{tab:urllc} \end{table} \subsection{Latency} With such strict latency requirements, as low as 5 ms end-to-end latency, it is necessary to minimize air interface delay (to 1 ms or less). To achieve such low latency, intensive optimization of air data delivery is necessary. There are several possible approaches that can lead to reduced communication time and latency \cite{5gamericasurllc}: \begin{itemize} \item Frequent transmission opportunities Downlink control channel used to carry scheduling information for data transmission is not usually monitored by end device for power saving reasons. However to reduce the waiting time for delivering the control information, the end device could do this. For device to start uplink transmission, it needs to send a scheduling request (SR) that allocates a specific transmission slot. To minimize the waiting time, the periodicity of the SR resource configuration should reflect latency requirements. This can be further emphasized by flexible scheduling timing mainly in Time Division Duplex (TDD). \item Flexible transmission duration This aspect is supported in 5G using larger subcarrier spacing. This shortens slot duration and gives bigger opportunity for quicker communication establishment. \item Grant-free (or configured grant) uplink transmission In cases with very low latency demand, grant-free uplink transition, specific periodic uplink resource for device can be arranged. End device in this scenario does not need to wait for scheduling request and at any time it has data it can transmit in this arranged slot without a need for dynamic grant. \end{itemize} Air interface is only partially responsible for total end-to-end latency. Remaining latency is caused by core network, internet network and particular server with which the device is communicating. This is to be solved by new concept of Edge computing. Edge computing is a possibility for a mobile operator or another entity to move services from a remote server closer to the device and to execute necessary task right in 5G core network \cite{3gppurllc}. Another method of lowering transport network latency is to avoid transport network completely. This is experimented in vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols and in non-IP based communication \cite{5gamericav2v}. \subsection{Cellular URLLC reliability optimization} In \ac{3GPP} Release 16, redundant transmission for high-reliability communication was introduced \cite{5gamericasurllc}. With this method, user packets are duplicated and simultaneously transferred to the receiver via two disjoint user plane paths. The redundant packets are then eliminated at the receiver side. This further avoids occasional fails in one path propagation and slims probability of exceeding the delay requirements. Other changes can be made in 5G core parameters settings, like QoS Monitoring, dynamic division of Packet Delay Budget and enhancements of session continuity \cite{3gppurllc}. \subsection{Shortcomings of cellular URLLC and time horizon} \section{DECT NR+ standard for 5G IoT networks} \subsection{Plain DECT} \ac{DECT} is a digital wireless technology standard primarily known for cordless telephones, though its applications have expanded to some not foreseen use-cases (professional wireless audio solutions such as walkie-talkies and wireless audio on music concerts). \ac{DECT} is an open standard that operates in a dedicated frequency range, typically 1880-1900 MHz in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South America, and 1920-1930 MHz in the US. This dedicated spectrum helps minimize interference from other wireless technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. \ac{DECT} uses a combination of \ac{TDMA}, \ac{FDMA}, and \ac{TDD}. This means the radio spectrum is divided into frequency channels (10 frequency channels) and time slots (24 of 10 ms slots per one frame), allowing multiple conversations to occur simultaneously on the same frequency band without interference. A typical \ac{DECT} system can support up to 12 duplex speech channels per base station frame. \cite{plaindectdesc} % https://www.etsi.org/technologies/dect \subsection{DECT NR+} \label{dectdescrition} \cite{dectnrdesc} % https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/nordic/nordic-blog/b/blog/posts/dect-nr-a-technical-dive-into-non-cellular-5g