These two chips show up on the same shortlist constantly, and the comparison is more interesting for how it clarifies what each one is built for than for declaring an overall winner — because once the two architectures are understood clearly, most real products don't need to choose between them at all. They need to choose which one owns which job. What the STM32WL Actually Is STMicroelectronics markets the STM32WL as the first true LoRa system-on-chip — a single die combining

The MCU selection meeting for a new battery-powered BLE wearable tends to follow a predictable pattern: someone proposes the chip the team already has experience with, someone else pulls up a deep-sleep current figure from a datasheet, and the decision gets made on incomplete information because a genuinely thorough comparison — across deep sleep current, active RX/TX current, peripheral set, toolchain maturity, and real sourcing availability — takes longer than the meeting h

The Wrong Starting Point Most connectivity decisions in embedded IoT development begin in the wrong place. They begin with the engineer's familiarity. The team has shipped three products with a cellular module. They reach for cellular again. A developer has spent two weeks getting a LoRa gateway running on a previous project. LoRa goes on the shortlist before the deployment requirements are written. The Wi-Fi stack is already in the microcontroller. Why not use it? This is no

Author: Srihari Maddula Reading Time: 25 mins Topic: Wireless Networking & BLE Reliability Radio waves don't care about your laboratory results. Photo via Unsplash. In a development lab, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) feels like magic. Your device is 2 feet away from your smartphone, the connection is instant, and the data transfer is flawless. You celebrate, wrap the project, and ship it. But then, the field reports start coming in: "The connection drops as soon as I put the pho

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a global phenomenon. But unlike the internet, where TCP/IP creates a near-universal layer, IoT connectivity remains fragmented by region. The reason is simple: Spectrum regulations differ across countries. Telecom operator strategies vary. Industry ecosystems have evolved differently. Proprietary protocols and legacy systems remain entrenched in some markets. The result? A logistics tracker built for NB-IoT in China may not work in the US, whil

Over the past six parts of this series, we’ve explored the entire spectrum of IoT communication technologies – from cellular and satellite IoT (NB-IoT, 5G, Starlink) to short-range wireless (BLE, ZigBee, Wi-Fi), LPWAN (LoRa, Sigfox, Mioty), wired/optical systems (Ethernet, KNX, Fiber), and industrial-grade mission-critical protocols (Wireless HART, ISA100, DECT-2020, TETRA). Now, in this final part, we’ll look ahead to what’s next for IoT connectivity. Technology never stands

When most people imagine IoT, they think about smartwatches talking to smartphones, smart bulbs controlled by apps, or industrial sensors inside factories. These are not powered by satellites or LPWAN — they are powered by short-range wireless technologies. Short-range protocols dominate in homes, hospitals, offices, factories, and retail environments, where devices are typically within a few centimeters to a few hundred meters of each other. In this article, we’ll dive into

IoT (Internet of Things) is not just about smart sensors and connected devices. At its core, IoT is about communication — how billions of devices exchange data reliably, securely, and efficiently. Without the right communication technology, IoT is just “things” without the “internet.” But here’s the challenge: there is no single best protocol for IoT. Instead, we have a broad landscape of technologies — each with its own strengths, weaknesses, and use cases. From short-range

Wi-Fi indoor localisation is a transformative technique used to determine the position of a device within buildings or enclosed environments using Wi-Fi signals. It plays a critical role in enabling smart infrastructure solutions, IoT product engineering, and embedded systems development—empowering industries such as retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics with real-time geospatial intelligence. The Role of Wi-Fi Indoor Localisation in Smart City Solutions Wi-Fi-base