NB-IoT vs LoRaWAN for industrial asset tracking: a technical breakdown

#iot #lorawan #nbiot #hardware

NB-IoT and LoRaWAN networks have been built for the deployment of IoT applications requiring low power consumption and wide coverage area. While on the face of it both technologies address the same need, opting for the wrong technology for your use case can result in insufficient coverage, high power consumption, and unexpected costs.

NB-IoT
Narrowband IoT
Cellular technology standard (3GPP) operating in licensed spectrum, using the same infrastructure as your current 4G or 5G connection. Deployed by carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, Vodafone. You will be charged per unit per month.
Licensed spectrum
Managed by carriers

LoRaWAN
Long Range Wide Area Network
Protocol operating in unlicensed ISM bands (868MHz EU, 915MHz US). You can set up your own gateways or rely on a shared network such as The Things Network. No carrier charges per device.
Unlicensed spectrum
Deploy independently

Direct head-to-head technical comparison

Criteria	NB-IoT	LoRaWAN
Coverage	Carrier network (roaming across the globe) (better)	Self-deployed or community network
Downlink support	Bidirectional capability (better)	Class A/B/C restrictions
Data throughput	~200kbps (better)	0.3 to 50kbps
Latency	Time of 1 to 10 seconds (better)	Time of 2 to 30+ seconds
Battery lifetime	2 to 5 years	5 to 10+ years (better)
Cost of the network	Pay per device per SIM card	Gateway capex only (better)
Indoor penetration	Good	Excellent (better)
Deployment control	Carrier-dependent	Full control (better)

LoRaWAN uplink payload structure
LoRaWAN uplinks are purposely small, usually less than 51 bytes per uplink. An example of an asset tracking payload that fits in this limit is:

// Encode asset tracking data into minimal bytes
// lat/lng as int32 (÷1e6), temp as int16 (÷100), battery as uint8

function encodePayload(lat, lng, tempC, batteryPct) {
  const buf = Buffer.alloc(11)
  buf.writeInt32BE(Math.round(lat * 1e6), 0)  // 4 bytes
  buf.writeInt32BE(Math.round(lng * 1e6), 4)  // 4 bytes
  buf.writeInt16BE(Math.round(tempC * 100), 8) // 2 bytes
  buf.writeUInt8(batteryPct, 10)            // 1 byte
  return buf
}

// Total: 11 bytes — well under LoRaWAN's 51-byte SF7 limit

Registration of NB-IoT devices with AT commands
The following command set can be used on NB-IoT modules for device attachment and sending an uplink:

// Attach to NB-IoT network and send a UDP packet
AT+CFUN=1                   // full functionality mode
AT+CEREG=1                  // enable network registration URC
AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","nbiot.apn" // set APN
AT+CGACT=1,1               // activate PDP context

// Open UDP socket and send payload
AT+CSOC=1,2,1               // create UDP socket
AT+CSOCON=0,"your-server.io",5683
AT+CSOSEND=0,0,"AABBCCDD..."  // send hex payload

Which to choose and when

NB-IoT

Fleet management
Cross-border assets requiring carrier roaming service

Frequent data transmission
Assets communicating every few minutes with two-way commands

Field asset tracking
Oil & gas and utility sectors with carrier network and no infrastructure requirements

LoRaWAN

Campus/Building
Static location, full control, no recurring carrier charges

10-year battery assets
Assets that infrequently move requiring decades of deployments

High density sensors
1,000+ sensors where SIM cards per device are unaffordable

*Dual radio hybrid tip: *

For assets that are mostly static on the campus but need transport from time to time, use a dual radio tag – LoRaWAN while inside (cheap, long battery) and NB-IoT once it exits the geofence (carrier network automatically activates).

The economics of scale

For small-scale deployments, the $2 per month SIM card cost for NB-IoT is not a factor. For 5,000 assets, the annual connectivity cost alone is $120,000. A LoRaWAN solution with 10 gateways could cost $15,000 initially and virtually nothing annually. The point of convergence, at which LoRaWAN becomes economically superior, is about 500 to 1,000 devices per site.

How to make a decision?

Moving assets over large geographical areas? Use NB-IoT.
Need two-way communication and OTA updates? Use NB-IoT.
Fixed site, more than 500 assets, budget considerations? Use LoRaWAN.
Require 10 years of battery life? Use LoRaWAN.
Devices that perform both functions? Hybrid tag radio

Both technologies are commercially available. AssetTrackPro provides NB-IoT and LoRaWAN asset tracking solutions for industrial applications, including hybrid tags for mixed environments.
Find out more about AssetTrackPro ↗

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