SigFox vs 5G | Difference between SigFox and 5G

This page compares SigFox vs 5G and mentions difference between SigFox and 5G.

Sigfox technology

It is based on Low Throughput Network based architecture. It offers low data rate communication. It supports larger distances and used for M2M and IoT apps requiring few bytes/day.

Sigfox network can coexist with cellular technologies such as LTE, 5G etc. It is defined in ETSI GS LTN 001, 002, 003 (Low Throughput Networks) documents.

The figure-1 depicts sigfox network architecture. Following table mentions features of sigfox technology.

Refer SIGFOX tutorial which describes sigfox LTN architecture, sigfox protocol stack, Sigfox frame structure and more.

5G technology

The fifth generation technology is defined in 3GPP Release 15 and Beyond. The 5G NR (New Radio) technology has been published in dec. 2017 There are two modes under which 5G technology works viz. NSA and SA. In standalone mode, UE works by 5G RAT alone and LTE RAT is not needed. In non-standalone mode, LTE is used for control (C-Plane) functions e.g. call origination, call termination, location registration etc. where as 5G NR will focuse on U-Plane alone.

The figure-2 depicts 5G NR network architecture. Following are the features of 5G wireless technology.
• Bandwidth: Supports 1Gbps or higher
• Frequency bands: Sub-1 GHz, 1 to 6 GHz, > 6 GHz in mm bands (28 GHz, 40 GHz), Refer 5G bands>>.
• Peak data rate: Approx. 1 to 10 Gbps
• Cell Edge Data rate: 100 Mbps
• End to End delay : 1 to 5 ms
• Refer 5G basic tutorial for more information on 5G wireless technology and its network architecture.

Tabular difference between SigFox and 5G

Following table mentions difference between SigFox and 5G wireless technologies.

Specifications	Sigfox	5G
Spectrum Frequency	868 MHz (Europe), 915 MHz (USA)	Licensed 700 to 900 MHz, Sub-1 GHz, 1-6 GHz , above 6 GHz bands
bandwidth	200 KHz	Gbps or higher
Data rate	10 bps to 1000 bps	< 1 Mbps to Gbps
Range (Outdoor)	30 to 50 Km (Rural), 3 to 10 Km (Urban)	< 15 Km
MCL	160 dB	164 dB
Battery Life	> 10 Years	> 10 Years (IoT applications)
Availability	2020	Beyond 2020
latency	in the range from ms to seconds	Less than 1 ms
Typical usage	less than 200 bytes/day (min.) about 5 Kbytes/day (max.)	Greater than sigfox
Applications	telemetry, alarm, sensing, control, tracking	uRLLC (for Low Latency), mMTC (for IoT use cases) and eMBB (for high speed use cases)
RF Wireless World References	Refer SIGFOX tutorial>> and SIGFOX technology basics>>.	Refer 5G tutorial>>