Comparison of Sub-GHz Wireless Protocols

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Wireless communication has grown rapidly over the last 20 years and is now widely used in many areas. The emergence of IoT has led to the development of Sub-GHz, a wireless communication standard. The purpose of this Sub-GHz wireless protocols comparison article is to give insight into some of them. Additionally, we would like to highlight our hardware engineering and design services, which have garnered significant popularity among our clients.

Key Takeaways About Sub-GHz Frequencies

Sub-GHz protocols have several advantages over other protocols on the market, such as:

• Operates over a longer distance (up to tens of kilometers, as opposed to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth which are limited to 300-500m).
• More power efficient.
• Data rates are far lower than 2.4 GHz.

Examples and Comparisons  of Protocols That Use Sub-GHz Frequencies

SigFox 

This is a cellular-style system. It uses ultra-narrow band technology (200 Hz), so the transmitter requires very little power to maintain a robust connection over long distances (30-50 km) while the data rate is a maximum of 140 messages per day per device, with up to 12 bytes payload (~100 bps).

LoRa (Long Range) 

This is a type of modulation that enables long range communication (10s of kilometers) with low power consumption. It uses a wide bandwidth (7.8 kHz-500 kHz) and provides up to 37.5 kbps data rate.

IEEE 802.11ah (Wi-Fi HaLow) 

This is a member of the standard Wi-Fi family. It is based on IEEE 802.11ac, but uses a  sub-GHz band and a narrower bandwidth (1/2/4/8/16MHz). 

Z-Wave 

This is another communication protocol used mainly for home automation. It uses a mesh network architecture with up to 232 nodes in a network. The data rate is about 100 kbps and the range is about 30m.

802.15.4 PHY/MAC 

This is the foundation for many protocol stacks (ZigBee, WirelessHART). Either band could be employed (data rates for sub-GHz 20-40 kbps vs 250 kbps with 2.4 GHz), the communication range is about 10 meters.

Zigbee

This is a low-power wireless communication protocol that can work in both 2.4 GHz and sub-GHz frequencies and is utilized for IoT applications. It has a 300-1000m open range and a decent data rate.

Wireless M-Bus

This protocol has low consumption and operates in the sub-GHz frequency range, commonly in the 868 MHz band in Europe, and the 915 MHz band in North America. Sub-GHz frequencies are less congested than 2.4 GHz frequencies. 

Thread

The Thread protocol should be mentioned in our article about how sub-GHz wireless protocols differ. The protocol employs a mesh networking topology, allowing devices to be connected with one another and therefore extend the network’s range.

Comparison Table

Here you may examine the differences between sub-GHz wireless protocols:

Protocol Name	Bandwidth	Range	Transfer Rate	Application Area	Advantages	Disadvantages
Sigfox	100 Hz	Up to 40 km	100 bps	IoT, smart cities, asset tracking	Low power, long range, low cost	Low data rate, limited bandwidth, low capacity
LoRa	Up to 500 kHz	Up to 10 km	Up to 50 Kbps	IoT, smart cities, agriculture, logistics	Long range, low power, low cost, scalable	Limited bandwidth, interference with other radio signals
IEEE 802.11ah (Wi-Fi HaLow)	1-16 MHz	Up to 1 km	Up to 347 Mbps	IoT, smart homes, healthcare, agriculture	High data rate, long range, low power	Limited range compared to other protocols, interference with other Wi-Fi signals
Z-Wave	900 MHz	Up to 100 m	Up to 100 Kbps	Home automation, smart homes	Low power, low interference, secure	Limited range, limited interoperability with other protocols
802.15.4 PHY/MAC	2.4 GHz, 868/915 MHz	Up to 100 m	Up to 250 Kbps	IoT, industrial automation, smart homes	Low power, low cost, flexible	Limited range, limited bandwidth, interference with other radio signals
Zigbee	2.4 GHz	Up to 100 m	Up to 250 Kbps	Smart homes, home automation, lighting	Low power, low cost, secure	Limited range, limited interoperability with other protocols
Wireless M-Bus	868/ 433 MHz	Up to 1 km	Up to 32 Kbps	Metering, smart cities, remote monitoring	Long range, low power, secure	Limited bandwidth, limited range compared to other protocols
Thread	2.4 GHz	Up to 100 m	Up to 250 Kbps	Smart homes, home automation, lighting	Secure, low power, scalable	Limited range, limited interoperability with other protocols

How Sirin Software Can Help

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Conclusion

We compared sub-GHz wireless protocols in this article. As was shown above, when developing an IoT solution that requires either long distance operation and/or autonomous power supply, one should also consider sub-GHz protocols as they are designed for long distance, low power, and low data rates communication. Be sure to visit our wireless solutions development page for a more in-depth exploration of this subject.