Sigfox IoT Network Design for Batam
Sigfox IoT Network Design for Batam
Abstract—Sigfox Network is one of the most widely used IoT loss that occurs, such as the application of Public IoT services
Connectivity technologies for the IoT market, especially for the that are appropriate to be held. The Internet of Things itself
Public IoT as integrated systems that operate in real-time, track has two parts, namely Public and Private IoT [2]. On the other
devices, and manage the energy used to help social work. Sigfox hand, businesses development in the Internet of Things (IoT)
uses unlicensed public frequencies, namely Industry frequency, takes advantage of deploying the Public Internet of Things
Science, and Medical (ISM), and technology with global reach (IoT), where companies will prefer public networks, mainly
characteristics, cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, and for two main reasons use case flexibility and industrial
simplicity, which is scarce for scholars to explore the Sigfox momentum & ecosystem. With its very promising potential,
network for multiple use cases as public IoT. Using Ultra-
IoT also delivers Great opportunities for mobile network
Narrow Band (UNB) with a total bandwidth of 192 kHz and 100
Hz messages per bandwidth, Sigfox operates globally. This
operators, non-cellular operators, and existing IoT companies
research explored Sigfox network planning and simulation with to develop the IoT public network that serves much use in
Batam Island representatives as Urban areas. The method used Indonesia. Since the telecommunications industry has entered
network planning (coverage and capacity) analysis and Indonesia, cellular operators need to develop a superior
simulation using Network Design Software Forsk Atoll 2.3.3. business strategy due to the very fluctuating
The results of the study stated that 15 gateways needed to cover telecommunications business environment [3][4][5]. This
the area. The simulation was done in two predictions, the business strategy is expected to create their competitive
coverage or prediction of the received signal level and the advantage in exploring IoT market opportunities [5]. In this
predicted Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). The simulation result research, Sigfox is (non-3GPP) LPWAN technologies that use
shows that almost sufficiently 100% of the area has an Industrial, Science, and Medical (ISM) frequencies. The
acceptable level above -134 dBm and produces an average best existing cellular network is considered inefficient in data
signal level of -86.55 dBm. The simulation also provides an transmission, while this technology uses 10 bytes for each data
average SNR level of 6.1 dB with the highest SNR value of 30 transmission. Therefore, Sigfox technology is considered to
dB to 31 dB can cover an area of 7.81 sq. km. be a suitable candidate for the interconnection devices from
the Public Internet of Things application to be held, and the
Keywords— Public Internet of Things, LPWAN, Sigfox, implementation costs are comparatively inexpensive stack up
Capacity, Coverage to licensed frequency LPWAN technology (3GPP) such as
Narrowband-IoT [6][7].
I. INTRODUCTION
The development of the Internet of Things led to a broad On the development of previous research, the use of the
consensus that the Internet Things (IoT) is facing the evolution LPWAN network planning for multiple uses, namely, NB-IoT
of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology; the challenge is Smart Measurement in Dense Urban [8], NB-IoT Public IoT
serious. However, on the other hand, it also creates various in Urban [5], LoRaWAN Smart Manufacture in Urban [9],
business opportunities for multiple industries and sectors such and Sub-Urban [10]. However, minimal information was
as Manufacturing, Health, Public infrastructure management, found regarding public IoT applications that support multiple
telecommunications, and more the other. The accuracy of uses all at once in one network, especially in urban areas
connectivity deployed for each application of this type of scenario. The characteristics of the island of Batam, which is
device is one of these challenges [1]. The development of the one of the urban areas and, most importantly, of the special
IoT market is currently developing rapidly with the increase economic zone in Indonesia. This study explores the Sigfox
in sensor devices installed. Internet of Things technology is technology as network connectivity for Public IoT services on
preparing to serve various needs such as industry, Batam Island compared to previous technology research.
manufacturing, environment, and household. Internet of Public IoT consisting of Smart utility, Smart manufacture uses
Things (IoT) is expected to meet the needs and minimize the a sensor device, and users get analyzed data, including prices
in real-time. In the form of a smart metering system that can
operate in real-time and manage the use of energy used, the Sigfox connectivity data is sent through the cloud to the
device is recorded and sent the information to utilities [11]. base station via backhaul, which generally uses DSL and 3G
The design of the Public IoT use case is expected to help or 4G connectivity as a backup. Sigfox uses satellites as an
record, real-time monitor failures and send various alternative backup technology when one of the two is not
information to the utility office for analysis [12]. Figure 1 available. Sigfox sets security principles by default in all
presents the design Public Sigfox Network for Batam Island. components it offers to Sigfox (users and operators), device
----------------------------------------. manufacturers, and end customers. Sigfox has security with
design principles in all the steps of defining the protocol and
the development of its network infrastructure[16]. Fig II
represents the complete IoT chain, includes devices, network
infrastructure, and cloud-based services.
from the RC4 specifications below, the RC4 parameters for public IoT services on Batam Island. In that case, the
comply with the regulations issued by the MCIT. proposed network will function for the next ten years or until
2030. Table IV shows the forecast results for 2030.
TABLE IV. SIGFOX RC SPESIFICATIONS[15][16]
TABLE V. NUMBER OF DEVICES NEEDED IN 2030
Parameters Value
Sigfox Messages per day 140 message / day Growth Number of Devices
Public Internet of Things
920.8 MHz Rate 2020 2030
Uplink center frequency
Downlink center frequency 922.3 MHz
600 bps Smart Waste Management 3,63% 4330 6189
Uplink data rate Air Quality 5,60% 214 371
Sigfox recommended EIRP 24 dBm Water Quality 3,28% 281584 474192
Specifies Frequency Hopping Smart Environment 286128 480752
Smart Electricity Metering 4,7% 320087 506682
Tables III and IV show that Indonesia is included in Smart Water Metering 3,28% 266821 368454
the Asia Pacific region [14] using Radio 4 Configuration with Lighting (PJU) 4,7% 8286 11836
a recommended EIRP value of 24 dBm, the characteristic of Smart Utilities 595194 886972
Smart Parking 5,60% 652 1125
RC-4 transmission data is frequency hopping (broadcasting Smart Traffic Light 5,60% 160 276
messages three times on three different frequencies [17]). The Smart Public Transport 5,60% 4524 7802
RC-4 LPWA set frequency is in the range 920-923 MHz [18]. Smart Mobility 5336 9203
Sigfox uses the Cooperative Reception method, a method in Smart Agriculture 0,78% 3650 3945
which each gateway receives messages broadcast near Smart Aquaculture 5,35% 7571 12750
Smart Manufacture 3,63% 123743 176757
devices that are not attached to only one gateway with an
Smart Economy 134964 193452
average of three gateways. This technique is better known as
Total 1.021.622 1.570.379
spatial diversity [16][21] so that Sigfox can achieve high
Quality of Service (QoS). The use-case on Batam Island's Public Internet of Things
network will be analyzed, as shown in Table V.
B. Public Internet of Things (IoT)
Public IoT is one of the services of the IoT technology B. Network Coverage Planning
network that collects information from integrated and In the calculation based on coverage planning, the type of
intelligent devices. The data can be used and sent safely to the area is an aspect that needs to be considered in order to
utility. The development of markets or businesses in the determine the Link Budget calculation formula for the Batam
Internet of Things (IoT), you can take advantage of deploying Island area type. Batam Island is an urban area characterized
the Public Internet of Things (IoT) network, where companies by buildings located close to each other, a higher population
will prefer public networks, mainly for two main reasons [2]: density. Then, some technical parameters need to be
a) Use Case Flexibility: Public networks can support a considered, such as the traffic model, user distribution model,
variety of use cases. user signaling, and channel occupancy time. The link budget
equation is presented below:
b) Industrial Momentum & Ecosystem: most of the
networks deployed are predict because the number of
Rx (dBm)= Tx (dBm)-Losses(dB)+Gain(dBi)
vendors, devices, and systems of the community is
multiplying globally.
Second, using the Okumura Hata model for cities, the
The Public Internet of Things application consists of waste Equation below calculates the distance between the gateway
management, air & water quality), electricity, the water of and the device [9] [18].
PDAM, streetlights, parking, traffic light, public transport,
agriculture, aquaculture, and factory. Public IoT solution uses PLUrban = 69,55 + 26,16 log10ƒ − 13,82log10ht − a(ℎr ) + (44,9
real-time data in power usage to monitor failures and optimize − 6,55log10ℎt) log10d (6)
the use of devices to manage the use of devices such as the
Public IoT service [12]. On the one hand, this particular Where [9],
solution can be related to automation that leads to ℎT: height of gateway's antenna (m)
manufacturing optimization, which later reduces dependence ℎr: height of the device's antenna (m)
on human resources and the disposal of non-human resources. d: distance of a gateway to end device (km)
ƒ: frequency (MHz)
The application of Public IoT will carry out on Batam a(ℎr): device antenna correction factor (m)
Island and its surroundings. Seeing Batam Island's area and its
a(ℎr) = (1,1 log10ƒ − 0,7)ℎr − (1, 56 log10ƒ − 0,8)
surroundings adjacent to other countries becomes a center
Rx: Received Power
business IoT market for traffic goods and services.
Tx: Transmitted Power
III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY C. Capacity Planning
A. Research Areas and The Number of Devices needed In the calculation of capacity planning, several aspects are
In this study, Batam is classified as an urban area with considered, such as the total number of devices, features, read
1,595 sq. km and a population with a 1,32 billion population according to schedule, read on demand, firmware updates,
[19] with some public Internet of Things applications. An maximum packet size, total bandwidth, bandwidth per
estimate is made of how many device requirements will be message, and limit messages per day. Then the number of
needed in the next 10 years before preparing Sigfox planning gateways needed to handle traffic needs for users is obtained
[16]. From this data, we can formulate the gateway capacity (f)Packet/day (message) (f)/(d) 82.286
as follows: (g)Message concurrent/site(message) BW/(b) 320
Capacity GW = (Total BW/BW per message) x MaxPacketSize (7) (h)Message/day with coalition (f)*(g) 26.331.520
Based on Equation (7), we can calculate the capacity per (i)Message/day in (h)*12/100 3.159.782
12%(message/day)
gateways. Table V shows the Sigfox cell capacity
(j)Duty Cycle (%) 10
requirements.
Total Message/Day (i)*10/100 315.979
TABLE VI. SIGFOX CELL CAPACITY
Specification Value After obtaining the Sigfox message/day calculation
Bandwidth 192 kHz without collision with a value of 12%, namely 315,979, the
Maximum packet size 26 bytes planning of the gateway capacity required by Sigfox
Bandwidth per message 600 Hz
technology also requires traffic characteristics, such as the
Maximum message per day 140
Capacity/ gateway 8320
number of packets per day required is shown in Table VIII.
From the data provided in Table III, Table V, and Table VIII,
IV. SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS Table VII shows the Public Internet of Things required packet
This chapter will analyze coverage and capacity per day. Furthermore, the number of packages/day and
calculation on simulations. messages/day calculated is distributed in Table VII.
A. Sigfox Planning Based on Capacity TABLE IX. NUMBER OF GATEWAY NEEDED BASED ON CAPACITY
CALCULATION
This research analysis of the Sigfox network planning
capacity for Public Internet of Things shows the calculation District Num. of Required Message/ Num. of
of Public IoT traffic with calculations from several essential Packet Day Site
aspects of capacity design, namely the number of tools, Batam Island 4.627.164 315.979 15
features, and event's frequency—table VII. Below is the
calculation of the analysis message number/day from Sigfox.
From Table III, the total devices needed in the Batam area
TABLE VII. TOTAL REQUIRED PACKET FOR SIGFOX were 1,570,379 devices. Table VII provided the total required
packet. Table VIII provided the entire message/day from
Features Schedule On- Time Firmware Outage Sigfox; we can calculate the gateways needed to fulfill user
Meter Demand of Update Restoration&
Reading Meter Use Management
traffic needs from both parameters. Table IX shows the
Reading Pricing number of gateways needed based on capacity planning.
Event Per 4 Device 100 per 1/1000 One device Based on each site model's capacity, the total number of
hours/ (5%) 1000 device per per event
device device 6 months packet demand 4.627.164 bytes requires a minimum of 15
(10%) sites for the Batam area.
End
Devices 1.570.379 78.519 7.852 1.571 1.570.379 B. Sigfox Planning Based on Coverage
Number
Pack
6 1 1 500 1
The specifications to count cell radius using the
/Day Okumura-Hata propagation model. In coverage planning,
Sec
Margin
10% 10% 10% 10% 10% factors that influence are device specifications such as
Burstiness
20% 20% 20% 20% 20% transmitter power, transmitter gain, receiver gain, receiver
Margin
Duty
sensitivity, gateway height, and end device height.
10% 10% 10% 10% 10% Table X. shows Specifications for calculating Okumura-
Cycle
Total Hata.
Required
Packet 4.627.164
TABLE X. OKUMURA HATTA CALCULATION AND NUMBER OF
GATEWAY NEEDED
In Table VII, the number of packages needed is
calculated with this multiple (((a) (b) + (a) (b) (c) + (a) (b) PARAMETERS Value
Frequency 922.3 MHz
(d)) * 3) (e)) where the multiplication of 3 is due to hoping,
Gateway's Height 30 m
that occurs in technology Sigfox 3 times. Table VII provided End Devises Height 1.5 m
the number of the total package needed, and Table VIII shows Transmitter Power 26 dBm
the message per day requirement for Sigfox. Transmitter Gain [21] 5 dBi
Receiver Gain [21] 0 dBi
TABLE VIII. MESSAGE PER DAY REQUIREMENT FOR SIGFOX Receiver Sensitivity [21] -134 dBm
Cell Radius 7.65 km
Specification Formulas Value Cell Area 152.27 km2
(a)Size Packet Max 26 byte (208 bit) Batam Island Area 1,595 km2
Gateways Number requirement 11
(b)Bandwidth/Messages (Hz) 600
(c)Frame length(sec/message) (a)/(b) 0,35
(d)Transmit Time (3 times) (c)*3 1,05
(e)Periodic (sec) 86400