Determining the connectivity requirements that need to be fulfilled to support your Use-Case/Application will require considering both Quality of Service (QoS) and Environmental requirements. *
These can broadly be considered as:
Quality of Service Requirements
- Data Rate: does the application only need to intermittently transfer small amounts of data (e.g. from a machine sensor), or does it require a continuous high data rate connection (e.g. to carry HD Video)
- Latency: does the application need a low latency connection (e.g. to act on a critical alarm in near real time), or is it delay tolerant (e.g., receiving meter readings).
- Reliability: does the application need a highly reliable connection for a critical application
Learn more about how these requirements lead you to specific technologies here.
Environmental Requirements
- Mobility: is the data connection being transferred by a device that is in a fixed/static position or is it moving around (note device speed and configuration flexibility are also factors for consideration)
- Range: does the data connection reach over a short or long distance
- Capacity: does the use case involve support for a small or large number of data connections (e.g. high number of sensors within a factory space)
Learn more about how these requirements lead you to specific technologies here.
* Please note, there are several other factors also to consider before finalising technology selection, such as : Cost/Budget/Business Case; Location (inbuilding/outdoor/rural/urban ...); Service Availability; RF Conditions; Security and Power requirements etc.