Low power consumption and wide area coverage are two important factors that build LPWA technology. SigFox is the operator of a cellular network dedicated to low throughput communication for connected devices. Company’s patented UNB technology achieves a broad scale connection to M2M/IoT devices over large distances. Low bit rate transmissions allows greater autonomy and saving energy at end devices.

1. A technical report
Angelos Alevizopoulos

2.  SigFox is a French startup company founded in
2010 by Ludovic Le Moan and Christophe
Fourtet.
 One of the main contributors of European
Telecommunications Standards Institute’s
(ETSI) efforts to create a Low Power Wide Area
(LPWA) network standard which named as Low
Throughput Network (LTN)

3.  LPWA technologies will ensure the Internet
of low-power, low-cost, and low
throughput things
 SigFox LPWA network offers an machine to
machine (M2M) connectivity solution based
on its patented technologies

4.  SigFox is a variation of the cellular system that
enables remote nodes to connect to access point
(AP) with Ultra Narrow Band (UNB) technology
 Patented UNB radio technology owned by SigFox
uses Binary Phase-Shift Keying (BPSK) modulation
 Signal’s width is 100Hz and the bitrate is fixed to
100 bits per second

5.  UNB with BPSK provides a good throughput over
large distances, reducing the experienced noise
and increasing the number of supported end-
devices
 Multiple transmissions are performed at a carrier
frequency chosen in the 868 MHz Industrial
Scientific Medical (ISM) band in Europe and in the
915 MHz in the U.S.

6. Picture 1: Waspmote SigFox Networking guide -
Libelium

7. Picture 2: Waspmote SigFox Networking guide -
Libelium

8.  Network’s range exceeds the 20 km between a
client device and a base station
 Bidirectional command-and-control functionality
with a distinct link asymmetry
 For downlink, SigFox use a Gaussian Frequency
Shift Keying (GFSK) modulation operating at 500
bps on a 600 Hz channel
 For uplink uses BPSK scheme with 100 bps on a
100 Hz channel
 Ability to successfully demodulate an extremely
low received power signal (-142 dBm)

9.  Better for applications that send only small
and infrequent bursts of data:
o Alarms
o Parking sensors
o Water meters (e.g. inside fire hydrants)
o Geolocation systems (tracking and tracing)

10.  SigFox clients need only three things to get
its IoT environment running:
1. A SigFox-ready module or transceiver
2. A valid subscription. Development kits and
evaluation boards come with an included
one-year subscription
3. Be in a coverage area

11.  SigFox’s LPWA requires :
1. Network infrastructure
2. Protocols
3. Network servers
4. Network controllers
5. Application servers
6. User interfaces
7. End devices

12. Your questions please