There are many wireless communication protocols available to use for your product, it becomes difficult

for the product designers to choose the correct one but once the scope of IoT application is decided it
would become easier to select the right protocol.
1. Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) is the most popular IOT communication protocols for wireless local
area network (WLAN) that utilizes the IEEE 802.11 standard through 2.4 GHz UHF and 5 GHz ISM
frequencies.

Indoor Wi-Fi provides Internet access to devices that are within the range of about 20 - 40 meters from
the source.
In outdoor Wi-Fi provides Internet access to devices that are within the range of about 100m meters
from the source.
Wifi data ranges from 2Mbps t0 2.4Gbps for different modules, depending on channel frequency used
and the number of antennas.
Minimum Current consumption ranges from 250mA to 500mA for different modules. The
infrastructure or device cost for Wi-Fi is low & deployment is easy but the power consumption is high
and the Wi-Fi range is quite moderate.
2. Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a technology used for exchanging data wirelessly over short distances.
It uses short-wavelength UHF radio waves of frequency ranging from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz in the ISM
band.
Bluetooth technology has 3 different versions based on its applications:
  Bluetooth:

It is a technology using which two devices can communicate and share data wirelessly. It operates at
2.4GHz ISM band and the data is split in packets before sending and then is shared using any one of the
designated 79 channels operating at 1 MHz of bandwidth.

 BLE (Bluetooth 4.0, Bluetooth Low Energy):

The BLE has a single main difference from Bluetooth in that it consumes low power. With
that, it makes the product of low cost & more long-lasting than Bluetooth.

 iBeacon:

It is a simplified communication technique used by Apple and is completely based on

Bluetooth technology.
The Bluetooth 4.0 transmits an ID called UUID for each user and makes it each to
communicate between iPhone users.
Bluetooth ranges from up to 77m and data rate are 25mbps
Bluetooth5 is a newer version of Bluetooth, It supports data packets 8 times bigger than
Bluetooth 4.0
COMPARISON BETWEEN BLE5 AND BLE4

Application
Bluetooth has many applications, such as in telephones, tablets, media players, robotics systems, etc.
3. Zigbee
It has features similar to Bluetooth technology. But it follows the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and is a
high-level communication protocol.
It has some advantages similar to Bluetooth i.e. low-power consumption t, robustness, high security,
and high scalability.
Zigbee offers a range of about 10 – 100 meters maximum and the data rate to transfer data between
communicated devices is around 250 Kbps. Current consumption of 10-100mA
It has many applications in technologies like M2M & IoT.
 Security of the Zigbee network is usually organized through a single node, The nominated trust
center, which is often the Zigbee coordinator. The rate of trust center is to authentic and device that
attempts to join the network and distribute security network.

Zigbee is only appropriate for Small-Scale Wireless applications. it provides 128-bit AES encryption
and is giving a big hand in making secure communication for Home automation & small Industrial
applications.
4. Z-Wave
Z-Wave is a communication protocol specially designed for Home Automation products and it is
also known as a low-power RF communications technology.

The data packets are exchanged at data rates of 100kbps maximum and the protocol operates at a
frequency of 900 MHz in the ISM band
It has a distance range of up to 30 meters maximum.
It supports control of up to 232 devices. The only maker of chips for this technology is Sigma
Designs.
5. 6LoWPAN (Low Power Wireless Person Area Network)
This protocol supports data encapsulation and header compression mechanisms with other applications
like Bluetooth & ZigBee.
 The standard can be used across multiple communications platforms, including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, IEEE
802.15.4, and sub-1GHz ISM. Data range up to 100m.
It can be adapted as Bluetooth 4.0 or ZigBee and operate at 2.4 GHz or 900 MHz, respectively. It
consumes low power that its current consumption is 70uA and can be used in a wide number of IoT and
M2M applications.
6. RFID
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses electromagnetic fields to identify
objects or tags which contains some stored information.

The range of RFID varies from about 10cm to 200m maximum and such a long difference makes the
two ranges have names like short-range distance and long-range distance.
Frequency ranges from 30KHz to 5Ghz. Read a range of RFIS is 1000 feet and the Data rate of
RFID is 1000Mbps.
7. NB-IoT
NB-IOT stands for Narrow Band Internet of Things, is an LPWAN i.e. Low Power Wide Area
Network technology.
The technology can be used for applications requiring low power consumption, long-distance
communication, and for a long time.
The advantage of NB-IoT is that it has good coverage capacity i.e. the signal can transmit through walls
or in underground areas where normal cellular signals won’t reach.
It has a distance coverage of around 10 Kms maximum. The data rate 200Mbps
8. 5G
5G is the fifth generation of cellular network protocol. It’s designed for high speeds communication
between smartphones as well as other devices.
5G networks are cellular networks, in which the service area is divided into small geographical areas
called cells. All 5G wireless devices in a cell are connected to the Internet and telephone network by
radio waves through a local antenna in the cell.
5G provides faster mobile communications. This is expected to support the increasing number of
electronic devices and services, including:

 self-driving cars

 virtual reality appliances

 telemedicine

 remote surveillance

 Telesurgery.

The frequencies range from 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) to several tens of GHz. Before 5G was launched, these
higher frequencies weren’t used in mobile networks. They are typically used in devices like security
scanners. 5G also uses a method called beamforming, which sends data directly to devices. This is
different from previous generations, which sent signals in all directions.
Is 5G frequencies effect on Health??
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Trusted Source, there is limited research on the
frequencies used in 5G. There is more research on the health effects of electromagnetic fields across the
spectrum.
Tissue Heating: A small 2017 study trusted Source showed that mobile phones use frequencies of 1.8 to
2.2 GHz. These frequencies cause tissue heating, according to WHO
Tissue heating occurs when your skin absorbs electromagnetic energy. This causes a slight rise in
temperature in your brain and body.
A 2021 study trusted Source also found that people experience more EMF-related tissue heating as they
get older. Plus, the higher the EMFs, the more they absorb. That’s because older individuals tend to
have reduced skin thickness and blood flow.
However, tissue heating is considered to be short-term and minimal. The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) also states that the public is exposed to very low frequencies of EMFs. These levels
are too low to cause considerable tissue heating.
Cancer
In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) stated EMFs are “possibly
carcinogenic” to humans. The classification was determined by 30 scientists from 14 countries.
To date, most studies have examined the potential link between EMFs and brain cancer. But the results
have been inconsistent.
For example, a 2017 research review found that EMF radiation from mobile phones is associated with
glioma, a type of brain cancer. A 2018 study, on the other hand, did not find a clear association between
high-frequency EMFs and brain tumors.
9. NFC
NFC (Near Field Communication) is a protocol used to enable simple and safe two-way interactions
between electronic devices.
It has mostly smartphone-based applications like allowing contactless payment transactions,
accessing digital content, and connecting various electronic devices.
It operates at a frequency of 13.56MHz in the ISM band and the maximum distance range is about
10cm with a data rate of 100–420kbps.
It replaces the card swiping payment transaction and can be used for wireless payment like some
magic.
10. LoRaWAN
LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) has applications for long distances and is designed
to provide low-power communication in IoT, M2M applications.
It has the capacity of connecting millions of devices with data rates ranging from 0.3 kbps to 50
kbps. The distance for LoRaWAN application ranges from 2 - 5km for the urban environment & a
maximum of 15km for the suburban environment.
11. LTE-M
LTE-M is also known as LTE (Long Term Evolution) Cat-M1 protocol.
It is a technology used to connect IoT devices directly with 4G network without the need to access
through any gateway in between.
It provides a data rate of about 100 Kbps and chips are less costly. Since it transmits less data, it
provides a long battery life to the devices.
12. GSM
Global System for Mobile Communication. It is a digital cellular technology used for transmitting
mobile voice and data services.
GSM is a circuit-switched system that divides each 200 kHz channel into eight 25 kHz time-slots.
GSM operates on the mobile communication bands 900 MHz and 1800 MHz in most parts of the world.
In the US, GSM operates in the bands 850 MHz and 1900 MHz.

SIM(Subscriber identity module )

The SIM provides personal mobility so that the user can have access to all subscribed services
irrespective of both the location of the terminal and the use of a specific terminal. You need to insert the
SIM card into another GSM cellular phone to receive calls at that phone, make calls from that phone, or
receive other subscribed services.
13 . Satellite Communication
The protocol for the satellite bus will be TCP/IP PROTOCOL.
 satellite communication is independent of ground-based infrastructure. This is particularly valuable
in hazardous and isolated regions (such as oceans, deserts, and polar regions) and in places where
conflict or natural disasters have destroyed the terrestrial infrastructure. For those in need of reliable
emergency communications, satellite communications can literally save lives.
Satellite communications use the very high-frequency range of 1–50 gigahertz to transmit and receive
signals.
The data rate of Satellite communication 1000Mbit/sec.satellites operate with only 200 to 800
watts of electricity generated by sunlight and 'solar cells'.
Application
Weather forecast is used to observations from which to analyze the current state of the atmosphere.
Broadcasting services include radio and television delivered directly to the consumer and mobile
broadcasting.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the first core element of the satellite navigation system widely
available to civilian users.
Comparison of Different wireless communication protocol