Global cellular MVNO, private LTE/5G inside your facility, long-range low-power LoRaWAN, and industrial network design are four different categories that all show up under the label "IoT." Below is the honest version of when each one wins — and which sourcing-network supplier fits each shape.
| Global · CellularKORE Wireless | Private LTE/5GEPIC iO | LPWAN · LoRaWANSemtech | Industrial · OTIndustrial Networking Solutions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Network type | Multi-carrier cellular MVNO (3G/4G/5G/NB-IoT/LTE-M) + satellite, global eSIM | Private cellular (CBRS, licensed LTE/5G) inside facility footprint | LoRaWAN — license-free, long-range, low-power, low-bandwidth | Industrial Ethernet, OT-grade Wi-Fi, ruggedized networking for plant floors |
| Best-fit buyer | CIO/CISO with globally distributed connected devices, regulated industry | Operations / facility lead modernizing on-prem connectivity, public sector | OT/IoT lead deploying massive sensor fleets in industrial, ag, utilities, smart city | Manufacturing / utilities engineering lead on the OT side |
| Differentiator | Multi-carrier failover, HIPAA/GDPR posture, end-to-end managed services | Coverage where Wi-Fi fails (yards, warehouses, plants), bypasses messy VLAN attack surface | Battery life measured in years, 10-15 km range, sensor fleets at $10/device economics | Designed for environments where commodity IT gear breaks |
| Security posture | Private APN, encrypted backhaul, device authentication, regulated-industry alignment | Private spectrum = strong inherent isolation from public RF attack surface | End-to-end encryption built into LoRaWAN spec; key management still your problem | OT/IT segmentation, industrial protocols, often paired with OT-specific monitoring |
| Typical floor | ~$30K+ annual (scales with device count + data plan) | ~$40K+ initial (spectrum + RAN + management) | ~$20K+ (depends heavily on sensor count and gateway deployment) | ~$25K+ (project-based + ongoing managed) |
| Less ideal when… | US-only, low-device-count, cost-sensitive deployments — go direct to a US carrier | Indoor-only deployments where Wi-Fi 6E covers the need | Devices need real-time, high-bandwidth, or video data — wrong physics | Pure-IT environments where carrier-grade cellular already solves it |
Brief us about KORE if you have connected devices across multiple countries, you're in healthcare/fleet/industrial, and HIPAA or GDPR posture matters more than a few cents per SIM.
Supplier page →Brief us about EPIC iO if you need private LTE/5G inside a campus, warehouse, plant, or public-sector footprint where Wi-Fi has been a chronic operational headache.
Supplier page →Brief us about Semtech if you're deploying thousands of low-power, long-range sensors in industrial, agriculture, utilities, or smart-city contexts where battery life is the bottleneck.
Supplier page →Brief us about INS if you're bridging OT and IT in a manufacturing or utilities environment and you need design + integration + ongoing management rather than gear-only procurement.
Supplier page →