The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) in smart agriculture has transformed farming practices by enabling real time monitoring, data-driven decision making, and automation. However, ensuring reliable connectivity in diverse agricultural environments remains a critical challenge. This paper analyzes the performance trade offs between Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN), specifically LoRaWAN, NBIoT, and Sigfox and cellular networks (4G and 5G) in agricultural applications. Beyond a comprehensive literature review, this study evaluates hybrid LPWAN and 5G architectures that integrate the strengths of both network types to enhance cost-efficiency and connectivity reliability. Using real-world case studies, the findings demonstrate that hybrid LPWAN and 5G models can reduce connectivity costs by up to 30% while significantly improving network reliability in remote agricultural settings. This work provides actionable recommendations for selecting optimal IoT connectivity solutions based on agricultural requirements and proposes future research directions to further optimize IoT infrastructure in smart farming.

翻译：物联网（IoT）与智慧农业的融合，通过实现实时监测、数据驱动的决策制定和自动化，改变了农业实践。然而，在多样化的农业环境中确保可靠的连接性仍然是一个关键挑战。本文分析了低功耗广域网（LPWAN），特别是LoRaWAN、NBIoT和Sigfox，与蜂窝网络（4G和5G）在农业应用中的性能权衡。除了全面的文献综述外，本研究还评估了混合LPWAN与5G架构，该架构整合了两种网络类型的优势，以提高成本效益和连接可靠性。通过实际案例研究，研究结果表明，混合LPWAN与5G模型可将连接成本降低高达30%，同时显著提高偏远农业场景下的网络可靠性。这项工作为基于农业需求选择最优物联网连接解决方案提供了可行的建议，并提出了进一步优化智慧农业中物联网基础设施的未来研究方向。