Data communications solutions overview for smart cities waste management

The current works describes the data transport networks within a smart waste management system. Existing technical solutions based on cellular networks and Internet-of-things (IoT) are described and the system’s technological limitations are discussed from the smart city perspective. A comparison is made using as relevant parameters the rate of transmission (kilobits per second), the energy consumption, the coverage area and the costs. While cellular networks have higher rates of transmission and use pre-existing telecommunication infrastructures, the monthly cost can easily reach prohibitive values and prevent the use of cellular communications in smart waste systems, such as those used in pay-as you-throw (PAYT). Solutions based on IoT networks (LoraWAN and SigFox) might partially overcome communication costs, and seem especially promising, especially considering the emerging 5G technology that is expected to trigger the widespread development of IoT solutions for smart waste.