The IoT Glossary:
Smart Connectivity, Simply Explained

You don’t have to be a software engineer to understand the Internet of Things. Below you’ll find simple, non-technical explanations of key IoT concepts you need to know.

All Categories Connectivity Cellular Networks Protocols SIMs Identification Numbers IoT Security Cellular IoT Industries
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Connectivity

What Is LoRaWAN? Long Range Wide Area Networks Explained

02.07.2021 LoRaWAN uses a star network topology—similar to a Local Area Network. All the end nodes connect to LoRaWAN gateways, which connect to one central network server. With LoRaWAN, IoT manufacturers can build or buy their own network infrastructure or find a provider that serves the area they want to deploy.

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What Is 3G? Third Generation Cellular Networks Explained

02.07.2021 – Cellular Networks

3G networks operate on frequency bands between 400 MHz and 3GHz. While they consume 50 percent more power than 2G networks, they also provide greater spectrum efficiency, making them suitable for a wider range of applications.

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2G and the Internet of Things: What You Need to Know

02.07.2021 – Cellular Networks

While 2G networks were built with cell phones in mind, this technology has historically been the most popular choice for Internet of Things manufacturers because it has global infrastructure, works well indoors and outdoors, consumes less power, and costs far less than more advanced cellular networks. Most cellular IoT applications currently use 2G.

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What Is Smart Charging? Flexible EV Charging

22.04.2021 – Industries

EV charging requires substantial electricity, and smart charging reduces the strain it puts on a utility provider’s infrastructure.

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What Is IPsec? Internet Protocol Security Explained

22.04.2021 – Protocols

Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) is one of the key layers of protocols developers use to secure the exchange of data through a network. (If you wish to know more about protocols and IoT check out our Comprehensive Guide to IoT Protocols.)

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What Is GSM? The Global System for Mobile Communication Explained

22.04.2021 – Cellular Networks

GSM is currently the most widely used network technology in Internet of Things (IoT) applications for its simplicity, affordability, and accessibility. But that’s likely to change over the next few years.

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What Is HLR? Home Location Register Explained

22.04.2021 – Identification Numbers

Home Location Registers are a component of 2G and 3G mobile networks. Every cellular carrier that facilitates telecommunications on one of these networks maintains its own HLR. Instead of an HLR, 4G networks have a Home Subscriber Server (HSS). In 5G networks, Unified Database Management (UDM) performs these functions.

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What Is USSD? Unstructured Supplementary Service Data

22.04.2021 – Protocols

USSD allows you to send small data packages without a data connection and without incurring SMS costs. It’s typically used for sending short requests and commands, and these messages can only contain a maximum of 182 characters (16 bits of data). USSD doesn’t support Multimedia Messages (MMS) like audio, video, or images.

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What Is an MSISDN?

22.04.2021 – Identification Numbers

The abbreviation MSISDN is a little ambiguous. Major telecommunications organizations and standardization bodies have slightly different terms with this same abbreviation, but they all represent the same thing. Depending on the source and context, MSISDN can stand for:

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