  Connectivity is probably the most basic building block of the Internet of
Things (IoT) paradigm. Up to know, the two main approaches to provide data
access to the \emph{things} have been based either on multi-hop mesh networks
using short-range communication technologies in the unlicensed spectrum, or on
long-range, legacy cellular technologies, mainly 2G/GSM, operating in the
corresponding licensed frequency bands. Recently, these reference models have
been challenged by a new type of wireless connectivity, characterized by
low-rate, long-range transmission technologies in the unlicensed sub-GHz
frequency bands, used to realize access networks with star topology which are
referred to a \emph{Low-Power Wide Area Networks} (LPWANs). In this paper, we
introduce this new approach to provide connectivity in the IoT scenario,
discussing its advantages over the established paradigms in terms of
efficiency, effectiveness, and architectural design, in particular for the
typical Smart Cities applications.
