Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) and LoRa Alliance have announced the result of an investigative partnership looking into how Internet of Things (IoT) networks can benefit from a combination of Wi-Fi and LoRaWAN connectivity.

The two organisations, both of which champion differing network technologies in unlicensed spectra, collaborated on a white paper which found that a combination of Wi-Fi and LoRaWan – the former excellent for high-speed communication over short to medium distances, the latter specialising in low-power transmission over short, medium, or long ranges – proved promising for deployments including smart building, residential connectivity, and automotive projects.

“Wi-Fi and LoRaWAN are two important technologies utilising the unlicensed spectrum, and they already address a large proportion of IoT use cases,” explains Tiago Rodrigues, general manager of WBA. “The Deployment Synergies paper highlights the ways in which these technologies are impacting private-public business models and enabling IoT services, while also identifying ways in which the technologies complement one another and can be used to further expand the Internet of Things.”

“The reality is that no one single technology is going to fit the billions of IoT use cases,” adds Donna Moore, chief executive and chair of LoRa Alliance. “It is collaborative initiatives like this one with Wi-Fi that will drive innovation to solve important issues, leverage an even broader range of applications and, ultimately, ensure the success of global mass IoT deployments in the future.”

The white paper is available for immediate download from the LoRa Alliance website.