Thread Insights

What is Thread?

Thread is a low-power, secure, and reliable wireless networking protocol designed for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. It's based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and uses IPv6, allowing devices to communicate directly with each other and the internet without a single point of failure. Thread networks are self-healing, meaning they can automatically adjust to changes in the network topology, and are commonly used in smart home applications such as lighting, thermostats, and security systems.

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What other technologies are related to Thread?

Thread Competitor Technologies

Zigbee

Zigbee is a competing wireless communication protocol based on IEEE 802.15.4, offering similar mesh networking capabilities for IoT devices.

mentioned alongside Thread in 11% (851) of relevant job posts

Z-Wave

Z-Wave is a competing wireless communication protocol primarily used for home automation, offering alternative mesh networking capabilities.

mentioned alongside Thread in 16% (184) of relevant job posts

UWB

UWB is a competing wireless communication protocol, used primarily for short-range, high-bandwidth applications.

mentioned alongside Thread in 9% (288) of relevant job posts

BLE

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a competing wireless communication protocol, often used for similar low-power IoT applications, though it typically uses a star network topology rather than mesh.

mentioned alongside Thread in 4% (425) of relevant job posts

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a competing wireless technology, although less relevant for low-power IoT mesh networks compared to BLE.

mentioned alongside Thread in 2% (651) of relevant job posts

Bluetooth Low Energy

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a competing wireless communication protocol, often used for similar low-power IoT applications, though it typically uses a star network topology rather than mesh.

mentioned alongside Thread in 7% (131) of relevant job posts

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a competing wireless technology, mainly for high-bandwidth applications, although it is not directly competitive for low-power mesh networks.

mentioned alongside Thread in 1% (521) of relevant job posts

Cellular

Cellular technologies (e.g., LTE-M, NB-IoT) are competing wireless technologies used for wide-area IoT deployments, offering alternatives to local mesh networks like Thread.

mentioned alongside Thread in 3% (157) of relevant job posts

Thread Complementary Technologies

Matter

Matter is an application layer protocol that can run over Thread, making them complementary. Matter provides interoperability, while Thread provides the network layer.

mentioned alongside Thread in 40% (434) of relevant job posts

802.15.4

IEEE 802.15.4 is the underlying standard upon which Thread is built, defining the physical and MAC layers.

mentioned alongside Thread in 18% (122) of relevant job posts

6LoWPAN

6LoWPAN is a protocol that allows IPv6 packets to be carried over IEEE 802.15.4 links, which Thread utilizes.

mentioned alongside Thread in 28% (65) of relevant job posts