IPA IP 2026 Question 76
A question IPA Japan published in 令和8年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問76, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Which of the following is the appropriate combination of words to be inserted into blanks A and B in the description below concerning LPWA that is used in IoT devices?
The characteristics of the wireless communication methods classified as LPWA are that their communicable range is A than that of a wireless LAN, and that they consume B power than the fourth-generation mobile communication standard (4G).
Explanation
A: wider, B: less — LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) covers a wide area on very little power.
LPWA is the family of wireless technologies made for IoT devices such as sensors and meters, which send small amounts of data now and then.
- •Range: several kilometres up to tens of kilometres, far wider than a wireless LAN, which reaches tens of metres to about a hundred metres
- •Power: low enough for a device to run for years on an ordinary battery, far less than 4G, which maintains a high-speed link
The price is speed: LPWA carries only a few kbit/s to a few hundred kbit/s. LoRaWAN, Sigfox, LTE-M and NB-IoT are examples.
Answer (d)
Why not others:
- •(a) — both wrong: LPWA reaches further than a wireless LAN and uses less power than 4G
- •(b) — less power is right, but a range narrower than a wireless LAN describes short-range links such as Bluetooth Low Energy, not LPWA
- •(c) — wider is right, but more power than 4G contradicts the low power that gives LPWA its name
Key rule: LPWA is what its name says, low power and wide area, at the cost of a low data rate.
Networks · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.