Reliable and Cost-Efficient IoT Connectivity for Smart Agriculture: A Comparative Study of LPWAN, 5G, and Hybrid Connectivity Models

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rafi, Mohamed Shabeer Mohamed, Behjati, Mehran, Rafsanjani, Ahmad Sahban
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866929759804456960
author Rafi, Mohamed Shabeer Mohamed
Behjati, Mehran
Rafsanjani, Ahmad Sahban
author_facet Rafi, Mohamed Shabeer Mohamed
Behjati, Mehran
Rafsanjani, Ahmad Sahban
contents The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) in smart agriculture has transformed farming practices by enabling real time monitoring, data-driven decision making, and automation. However, ensuring reliable connectivity in diverse agricultural environments remains a critical challenge. This paper analyzes the performance trade offs between Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN), specifically LoRaWAN, NBIoT, and Sigfox and cellular networks (4G and 5G) in agricultural applications. Beyond a comprehensive literature review, this study evaluates hybrid LPWAN and 5G architectures that integrate the strengths of both network types to enhance cost-efficiency and connectivity reliability. Using real-world case studies, the findings demonstrate that hybrid LPWAN and 5G models can reduce connectivity costs by up to 30% while significantly improving network reliability in remote agricultural settings. This work provides actionable recommendations for selecting optimal IoT connectivity solutions based on agricultural requirements and proposes future research directions to further optimize IoT infrastructure in smart farming.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_11162
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Reliable and Cost-Efficient IoT Connectivity for Smart Agriculture: A Comparative Study of LPWAN, 5G, and Hybrid Connectivity Models
Rafi, Mohamed Shabeer Mohamed
Behjati, Mehran
Rafsanjani, Ahmad Sahban
Networking and Internet Architecture
The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) in smart agriculture has transformed farming practices by enabling real time monitoring, data-driven decision making, and automation. However, ensuring reliable connectivity in diverse agricultural environments remains a critical challenge. This paper analyzes the performance trade offs between Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN), specifically LoRaWAN, NBIoT, and Sigfox and cellular networks (4G and 5G) in agricultural applications. Beyond a comprehensive literature review, this study evaluates hybrid LPWAN and 5G architectures that integrate the strengths of both network types to enhance cost-efficiency and connectivity reliability. Using real-world case studies, the findings demonstrate that hybrid LPWAN and 5G models can reduce connectivity costs by up to 30% while significantly improving network reliability in remote agricultural settings. This work provides actionable recommendations for selecting optimal IoT connectivity solutions based on agricultural requirements and proposes future research directions to further optimize IoT infrastructure in smart farming.
title Reliable and Cost-Efficient IoT Connectivity for Smart Agriculture: A Comparative Study of LPWAN, 5G, and Hybrid Connectivity Models
topic Networking and Internet Architecture
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.11162