Amazon Sidewalk is a shared, community network that provides greater coverage and range to smart devices. Amazon Sidewalk creates a low-bandwidth network with the help of Sidewalk Bridge devices including some Amazon Echo and Ring devices. These Bridge devices share a small portion of your Internet bandwidth, to provide services to you and your neighbors. The more people that participate and collaborate, the stronger the network becomes.
Amazon Sidewalk uses Bluetooth, the 900MHz spectrum and other frequencies to extend coverage and provide these benefits. The Amazon Echo Plus and Echo Show are the more advanced Alexa-powered smart speakers with a built-in ZigBee capability. This means they can connect to Zigbee devices directly, without needing an external hub to translate the protocols.
In developing Sidewalk, Amazon has shown that it doesn't want to be dependent on ZigBee, Z-Wave or thread and wants to have a (proprietary) 'standard' of their own. Amazon is not transparent about what technology it is using in the 900MHz band but, given recent acquisitions it looks very much like they are using LoRa.
Sidewalk Bridges are devices that provide connections to Amazon Sidewalk. Current Sidewalk Bridges include many Echo devices and select Ring Floodlight and Spotlight Cams. A comprehensive list of Sidewalk devices includes: Ring Floodlight Cam (2019), Ring Spotlight Cam Wired (2019), Ring Spotlight Cam Mount (2019), Echo (3rd gen and newer), Echo Dot (3rd gen and newer), Echo Dot for Kids (3rd gen and newer), Echo Dot with Clock (3rd gen and newer), Echo Plus (all generations), Echo Show (all models and generations), Echo Spot, Echo Studio, Echo Input, Echo Flex.
Whather Sidewalk is useful to you will go a long way to deciding whether you buy a device that supports it and turn it on. For most people, it probably won't add much value. Those with devices and sensors mounted at the fringe of larger properties will find it useful.
We think the 'killer application' for it will be pet tracking. The much greater range and wider network coverage will allow low-power pet collars to work much better and be comparable to SIM-based equivalents in terms of usefulness.
Amazon Sidewalk uses your own Internet connection as the 'back haul' network but, the bandwidth used is limited between the Sidewalk Bridge and the Sidewalk server to 80Kbps. The total monthly data usage is also capped at 500MB.
Make no mistake, this technology is not being rolled out purely for the benefit of users. Amazon is aiming to increase its market share and gain a competitive advantage with its products that support Sidewalk. Only devices authorised by Amazon to use Sidewalks low-bandwidth connections are allowed to connect to Amazon Sidewalk.
Amazon is obviously very focussed on security of Sidewalk. A single hack will damage confidence in the service. Information transferred over Sidewalk Bridges is encrypted and Bridge customers are not able to see that Sidewalk-enabled devices are connected to their Bridge. Customers who own Sidewalk-enabled devices will know they are connected to Sidewalk but will not be able to identify which Bridge they are connected to. Amazon's whitepaper on Sidewalk provides assurances but, as well as using their proprietary technology (which no one but Amazon knows about), it is also built upon Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies which have their own security flaws.
The bottom line is that it probably is quite secure but, it is another entry point for hackers to target, so it will weaken your home network security. Is it a significant weakness? Probably not. Yet. Time will tell.
Will Amazon Sidewalk be a success? Yes, definately. Amazon is a huge organisation and a major player in the smart home space. It is building Sidewalk on the back of the Echo range of devices, which are incredibly popular. Amazon is also making it easy for other hardware manufacturers to build Sidewalk into their devices, via the Sidewalk Developer Service (SDS).
