The history of cellular low power WAN (LPWAN) technologies has been one of confusion and firefighting. The kind of connectivity required by machine-to-machine applications – low power, often low bit-rate – was mainly confined to GSM, and specifications in the 4G standards were left fallow and unimplemented. Then the signs of an emerging Internet of Things refocused attention on the need for a more advanced cellular M2M network – to provide greater functionality than GSM; to allow operators, eventually, to sunset 2G networks; and to fend off the new challenge from LPWANs in unlicensed spectrum, such as LoRa and Sigfox, which could be used to challenge the MNOs in a market that suddenly looked attractive again. This led to the…