Once you've figured out what your device does, and that it benefits from an internet connection, you still have to decide how to connect it. There are many options with various trade-offs.
Perhaps Wi-Fi needs no introduction. Almost every modern home with internet access has Wi-Fi available. This is in large part because residential Internet Service Providers (ISPs) typically use modems with built-in Wi-Fi. If your IoT device is deployed indoors, there is a good chance that a Wi-Fi network is available. This is particularly true for residential and commercial devices.
Wi-Fi is the most popular Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology and is based around the IEEE 802.11 standards. It typically operates on either a 2.4 GHZ or a 5 GHZ radio frequency.
Two main operation modes are provided by Wi-Fi. In ad hoc mode, devices communicate directly to one another. However, infrastructure mode is much more common. In infrastructure mode, devices on a WLAN all connect to...