For remote edge analytics or IoT applications, power consumption and signal range are important factors. As we've seen, 5G offers amazing data transfer rates and low latency, however, the range of 5G and cellular network technology, in general, is limited. Using a lower frequency and sacrificing data bandwidth may be a good option for our remote edge analytics and IoT applications. In the case of edge analytics, it may be the best option.
Two technologies designed for remote edge analytics and IoT applications are LoRa and Sigfox. We will take a look at both of these technologies in this section. Before we do though, let's discuss the Friis transmission formula equation and use it to back up the argument of using lower frequencies for communications.