3 ms·

100% this. as a device maker, sidewalk is a potential game changer for low power connectivity and finally a path to lorawan finding wide spread adoption

Taniwha 5y ago
except that, unlike ble, lora lives on bands that are not the same world wide - there is no region 3 ISM band - here in NZ the US ISM band is right in the middle of one of my cell phone company's bands
- stingrae 5y ago
  this is true but in practice it's not a big deal. Companies don't usually do a single sku for the whole world especially with the certification requirements.
  - Taniwha 5y ago
    I (pre-covid) visit the US a lot and often bring stuff back. I'm used to turning off/switching the US-DECT/etc when required but in this case Amazon has snuck extra functionality into my home without my knowledge. Of course when the radio inspector comes knocking on my door because Amazon has loaded the wrong firmware into my box (without my knowledge) it's me who's breaking the law, not Amazon
    - stingrae 5y ago
      this is already the case. certifications for 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi have different requirements between the US and EU. Often in the EU companies have to lower the peak power.
duped 5y ago
I don't like the idea of my neighbors piggybacking off my data and power hookups. Why aren't device manufactures figuring out how to make things that don't require something like sidewalk to exist? It's not that difficult to run cable and use power over ethernet.
- stingrae 5y ago
  the key use case for sidewalk is away from your home. Ethernet doesn't fix this. Presently cellular is the only real solution.
- Spivak 5y ago
  Okay so every device comes with cellular radios which talk to the same IoT API. Does anything really change for you?
  - duped 5y ago
    Yes, I'm not paying for your infrastructure. Isn't this what 5G is supposed to be used for?
    - geertj 5y ago
      The Sidewalk network has a very low bandwidth of 80kbps with a cap of 500 MB per month. I doubt that it will incur extra cost for most people. Is your concern about the principle of sharing bandwidth or are you worried about the actual cost?
      - mike_d 5y ago
        If it is that cheap, why doesn't Amazon do a deal with the power company to hang an Alexa off every power pole to build their network? I'm sure it would be no big deal if I just took a few cents from you and all your family members every day to buy my coffee each day?

Taniwha 5y ago

except that, unlike ble, lora lives on bands that are not the same world wide - there is no region 3 ISM band - here in NZ the US ISM band is right in the middle of one of my cell phone company's bands

stingrae 5y ago
this is true but in practice it's not a big deal. Companies don't usually do a single sku for the whole world especially with the certification requirements.
- Taniwha 5y ago
  I (pre-covid) visit the US a lot and often bring stuff back. I'm used to turning off/switching the US-DECT/etc when required but in this case Amazon has snuck extra functionality into my home without my knowledge. Of course when the radio inspector comes knocking on my door because Amazon has loaded the wrong firmware into my box (without my knowledge) it's me who's breaking the law, not Amazon
  - stingrae 5y ago
    this is already the case. certifications for 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi have different requirements between the US and EU. Often in the EU companies have to lower the peak power.

duped 5y ago

I don't like the idea of my neighbors piggybacking off my data and power hookups. Why aren't device manufactures figuring out how to make things that don't require something like sidewalk to exist? It's not that difficult to run cable and use power over ethernet.

stingrae 5y ago
the key use case for sidewalk is away from your home. Ethernet doesn't fix this. Presently cellular is the only real solution.
Spivak 5y ago
Okay so every device comes with cellular radios which talk to the same IoT API. Does anything really change for you?
- duped 5y ago
  Yes, I'm not paying for your infrastructure. Isn't this what 5G is supposed to be used for?
  - geertj 5y ago
    The Sidewalk network has a very low bandwidth of 80kbps with a cap of 500 MB per month. I doubt that it will incur extra cost for most people. Is your concern about the principle of sharing bandwidth or are you worried about the actual cost?
    - mike_d 5y ago
      If it is that cheap, why doesn't Amazon do a deal with the power company to hang an Alexa off every power pole to build their network? I'm sure it would be no big deal if I just took a few cents from you and all your family members every day to buy my coffee each day?