IoT Communication Protocol

Wireless technology has changed the way we connect to the world. Well, it’s needless to say, that wireless connectivity has become a part of our lives. In this article, we will see the main characteristics and examples of wireless technology of some IoT communication protocol that is trending in 2023.

IoT Communication Protocol

Internet of Things (IoT) devices uses standard wireless technology. Mostly used IoT communication protocols are,

Bluetooth & BLE

• The frequency range supported in Bluetooth varies from 2.4 GHz to 2.483 GHz. It covers less distance than Zigbee.
• Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard created for Short range.
• Ideal for Speakers, Printers who could communicate at short distances.
• Bluetooth Low Energy – abbreviated Bluetooth LE – was originally branded as “Bluetooth 4.0” when it was created in 2011. Its primary benefit (and the difference from “regular” Bluetooth) is its low power consumption. Bluetooth is the wireless technology for IoT.
• Bluetooth is supported by Bluetooth SIG.

Also Read: What is Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)? A Beginner’s Guide To BLE

ZigBee

• ZigBee is a mesh network protocol designed to carry small amounts of data across medium distances.
• Zigbee was designed for building and home automation applications, and it’s one of the most popular mesh protocols in IoT environments.
• A short-range and low-power protocol, Zigbee can be used to extend communication over multiple devices.
• It has a longer range than BLE, but it has a lower data rate than BLE.

Z-Wave

• Another proprietary option, Z-Wave is a wireless mesh network communication protocol built on low-power radio frequency technology. Like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, Z-Wave lets smart devices communicate with encryption, thereby providing a level of security to the IoT deployment.
• It’s commonly used for home automation products and security systems, as well as in commercial applications such as energy management technologies.
• It operates on 908.42 MHz radio frequency in the U.S.; although, its frequencies vary country by country.
• Z-Wave is supported by the Z-Wave Alliance.

LoRa/LoraWAN

• LoRa, for long-range, is a non-cellular wireless technology that, as its name describes, offers long-range communication capabilities. It’s low power with secure data transmission for M2M applications and IoT deployments. A proprietary technology, it’s now part of Semtech’sradio frequency platform.
• LoRaWAN is an open protocol that enables IoT devices to use LoRa for communication.

Cellular

• Cellular is one of the widest communications range over longer distances.
• Cellular provides high bandwidth and reliable communication.
• It’s capable of sending high quantities of data, which is an important capability for many IoT deployments.
• However, those features come at a price, higher cost, and power consumption than other options.
• Although 2G and 3G legacy cellular standards are now being phased out, telecommunications companies are rapidly expanding the reach of newer high-speed standards namely 4G/LTE and 5G.

5G wireless technology has impacted our lives in multiple ways. For example, 5G networks can support
much higher data rates than current 4G networks, which could allow for faster internet speeds, faster media streaming, and the ability to use more connected devices simultaneously. In addition, 5G wireless technology improved longer battery life for mobile devices, and more secure connections. This could lead to more efficient remote work, smarter homes and cities, and improved healthcare services. All of these benefits could ultimately lead to a more connected and efficient world.

MQTT – Message Queuing Telemetry Transport

• Developed in 1999 and first known as Message Queuing Telemetry Transport, it’s now just MQTT. There is no longer any message queueing in this protocol. MQTT uses a publish-subscribe architecture to enable M2M communication.
• It’s a simple messaging protocol that works with constrained devices and enables the communication between multiple devices.
• It was designed to work in low-bandwidth situations, such as for sensors and mobile devices on unreliable networks.

If you want to learn more about MQTT, then see the blog post below:

• Introduction of MQTT
• Features of MQTT
• MQTT Publish-Subscribe and Unsubscribe
• MQTT Client-Broker Connection
• MQTT Topics Explained
• Quality of Service Level in MQTT
• Persistence Session & Message Queueing in MQTT
• Retained Messages in MQTT
• Last Will and Testament Feature
• MQTT Keep alive and client takeover

AMQP-Advanced Message Queuing Protocol

• AMQP is an open standard protocol used for more message-oriented middleware. As such, it allows for messaging interoperability between systems regardless of the message brokers or platforms being used.
• It offers security and interoperability, as well as reliability, even at a distance or over poor networks.
• It supports communications, even when systems aren’t simultaneously available.

LWM2M – Lightweight M2M (LWM2M)

• Lightweight M2M (LWM2M) is “a device management protocol designed for sensor networks and the demands of an M2M environment.”
• This communication protocol was designed specifically for remote device management and telemetry in IoT environments and other M2M applications.
• it’s a good option for low-power devices with limited processing and storage capabilities.

CoAP-Constrained Application Protocol

• The IETF Constrained RESTful Environments working group in 2013 launched CoAP, for Constrained Application Protocol, having designed it to work with HTTP-based IoT systems.
• CoAP relies on the User Datagram Protocol to establish secure communications and enable data transmission between multiple points. Often used for machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.
• CoAP enables constrained devices to join an IoT environment, even with the presence of low bandwidth, low availability, and/or low-energy devices.

So in this article, we looked at the various IoT communication protocol used in the internet of things.

Also Read: HTTP Protocol (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

how can you protect your information when using wireless technology?

• Avoid using the default password while using wireless technology.
• Encrypt your data, For using wireless technology ensure that it has at least WPA2 security encryption so that it cannot be hacked. Keep your password as random as possible with both numeric and alphanumeric combinations.