DALLAS, June 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new research report from Parks Associates finds the combination of low power, wide range, and other interesting features makes LPWAN (low-power wide-area networks) an ideal solution for consumer IoT applications. Opportunities for LPWAN in the Consumer IoT analyzes leading LPWAN technologies and their consumer use cases for healthcare wearables, smart home, asset/pet tracking, and connected car.

"There are multiple business cases where LPWAN can fit and improve the consumer experience or the provider's bottom line," said Elizabeth Parks, President, Parks Associates. "Most LPWAN deployments so far are in the enterprise sector, but early crossover use cases into the consumer sector include pet tracking and connected healthcare. For example, AT&T released its first LTE-M certified medical-grade smart watch in February 2019, which allows healthcare providers to provide health monitoring services to their consumers."

Smart watches will serve as a strong entry point for LPWAN into the consumer market, as this form factor already has significant awareness and adoption among consumers—17% of US broadband households own a smart watch. The low-power aspect of LPWAN will help extend the battery life on smart watches, a key demand among smart watch owners, while still maintaining strong connectivity.

LPWAN use cases can then expand from these monitoring use cases to cover the home and car. The report examines current LPWAN standards, including Sigfox, LoRaWAN, LTE-M, NB-IoT, and WiFi HaLow, and analyzes their utility for smart home and consumer IoT applications.

"Growth in the LPWAN consumer market is slow today due to technology fragmentation and low market demand," Parks said. "Nevertheless, open ecosystems and third-party development of LPWAN solutions and applications will drive the market forward."

Opportunities for LPWAN in the Consumer IoT compares the strengths and weaknesses of LPWAN solutions and assesses how each solution may open opportunities for manufacturers and service providers.

For information on Opportunities for LPWAN in the Consumer IoT, contact [email protected]. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific research data, please contact Sherrelle Lewis at [email protected], 972-996-0214.