What is SigFox?
Sigfox at a Glance
- What it is: Sigfox is a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technology designed for long-range, low-bandwidth IoT communication.
- Why it matters: Offers cost-efficient connectivity for IoT and M2M devices that transmit small, infrequent messages.
- Best fit: Ideal for sensors, actuators, and IoT devices needing minimal power use, long battery life, and wide coverage.
What is Sigfox?
Sigfox is a France-based LPWAN technology built for IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. It delivers long-range coverage—typically 30–50 km in rural areas and 3–10 km in dense urban settings—while maintaining ultra-low power and data costs.
Sigfox uses ultra‑narrowband (≈100 Hz in EU; ≈600 Hz in US) within ~192 kHz of spectrum, which helps with interference resilience. Because of this design, Sigfox is best suited for devices that transmit tiny payloads (up to 12 bytes per message) only a few times per day.
How Sigfox Works
Sigfox uses a message-based radio network:
- An IoT device emits a lightweight message via its radio antenna.
- Nearby Sigfox base stations receive the message.
- The message is forwarded to the Sigfox Cloud.
- From there, the data is routed to the customer’s application or backend platform.
This streamlined approach prioritizes simplicity, efficiency, and reliability over high throughput.
Benefits of Sigfox
- Ultra-low power consumption: Devices can run for years on a single battery.
- Long-range coverage: Reaches 30–50 km in rural areas.
- Cost efficiency: Low subscription costs compared to cellular IoT.
- Noise resistance: Ultra-narrowband operation minimizes interference.
- Global availability: Operates in over 70 countries with growing infrastructure.
- Scalability: Supports large networks of lightweight IoT devices.
Challenges of Sigfox
- Limited message size: Payloads capped at 12 bytes (excluding headers).
- Restricted daily messages: Typically limited to 140 uplink and 4 downlink messages per device, per day.
- Coverage limitations: While growing, Sigfox infrastructure isn’t available everywhere.
- Proprietary network: Operator‑run, proprietary public network (typically one exclusive Sigfox/0G operator per country); unlike LoRaWAN, you generally can’t deploy your own public Sigfox network.
Sigfox vs. Other LPWAN Technologies
| Feature | Sigfox | NB-IoT | LoRaWAN | LTE-M (Cat M1) |
| Range | 30–50 km rural, 3–10 km urban | 1–10 km | 2–15 km | 1–10 km |
| Data throughput | Very low (12-byte payloads) | Low (kbps range) | Low to medium | Medium (up to ~1 Mbps) |
| Battery life | Very long (years) | Long (years) | Long (years) | Medium |
| Network model | Proprietary, single operator | Licensed cellular | Open, unlicensed spectrum | Licensed cellular |
| Best fit | Simple sensor data, small payloads | Smart meters, utilities | Flexible IoT deployments | Higher data IoT apps |
Sigfox Use Cases
- Smart agriculture: Soil sensors transmit occasional data on moisture or pH.
- Smart cities: Trash bins send alerts when nearing capacity; parking sensors indicate availability.
- Logistics & asset tracking: Low-cost trackers provide location pings without frequent updates.
- Utilities: Remote meter reading without the need for manual inspections.
- Industrial IoT: Low-data alerts from equipment in remote or difficult-to-reach areas.
How Soracom Supports Sigfox Deployments
With Soracom Air for Sigfox, businesses can combine Sigfox and GSM connectivity in a single platform and billing system. This hybrid approach provides:
- Dual-network reliability: Sigfox for low-power, long-range IoT messaging; GSM for fallback or higher-data needs.
- Unified cloud integration: Seamlessly connect device data to cloud services via Soracom Funnel and Beam.
- Enhanced security: Options for encryption offloading and private networking.
- Scalable ecosystem: Access to Soracom’s global partner network for devices and modules that are already Sigfox-certified.
👉 With Soracom, businesses can accelerate IoT deployment, reduce complexity, and scale Sigfox projects with confidence.
Meta Description
“Sigfox explained: Learn how this LPWAN technology enables long-range, low-power IoT communication, its benefits and challenges, and how Soracom simplifies Sigfox deployments.”