Breaking Barriers in Long-Range Communication: Insight into LoRa and LoRaWAN

Today, wireless connectivity plays a vital role, as it spans distances and permeates every aspect of our life. The need for reliable and efficient long-range wireless connections begins to emerge with the reason of technologies like Bluetooth and WiFi can only handle short-range ones. Among the latest technology, LoRa and LoRaWAN, designed specifically for low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), stand out as the pioneers breaking the technology barriers. They show great performance on coverage area and reliability, ideal for a wide range of Internet of Things (IoT) applications. From smart industries to industrial IoT scenarios, LoRa and LoRaWAN are transforming the way we connect and interact with our world.

In this article, we'll delve deeper into the LoRa and LoRaWAN technologies, exploring their unique advantages, and the impact they're having on the current situation and future of long-range communication.

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What are LoRa and LoRaWAN?

LoRa, Long Range Radio, developed by Semtech in 2012, is a long-range and low-power wireless communication technology mainly focused on physical layer (PHY) implementation. Leveraging Chirp Spread Spectrum (CSS) modulation, LoRa can create chirp signals on a wider bandwidth. Every signal will be modulated onto a carrier frequency, which can change linearly over time, similar to the communication methods of dolphins or bats. Adopting this great modulation technique, the resistance to interference and noise can be improved greatly. Also, with the aim to get more stable communications, data rates can be shifted automatically according to the interference level by using Adaptive Data Rate (ADR). The combination of CSS and ADR allows LoRa to perform well in long-range point-to-point (P2P) communication with lower power communications.

LoRaWAN, which stands for LoRa Wide Area Network, refers to a tailored communication protocol based on the LoRa network. Adding one network layer protocol - known as Media Access Control (MAC), on LoRa modulation, LoRaWAN provides a bidirectional communication solution to bridge the nodes and gateways. Since its introduction in 2015, LoRaWAN has experienced historical revolution and reached a milestone in December 2021 for the recognition of version 1.0.4 as an ITU-T standard.?

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Why Choose LoRaWAN?

LoRaWAN stands out as an exceptional technology with numerous advantages. Its end devices are designed for ultra-low power consumption, allowing them to operate for up to 10 years on one coin cell battery. LoRaWAN gateways show excellent long-range capabilities, transmitting and receiving signals over 10 kilometers in rural areas and up to 3 kilometers in dense urban settings with deep penetration, even within deep indoor environments or multi-floor buildings. Furthermore, the network servers are capable of handling high capacities, managing millions of messages from thousands of gateways.

LoRaWAN networks are capable of offering geolocation services through triangulation, enabling device location tracking without GPS system when at least three LoRaWAN gateways receive the signal. It boosts versatility as both public and private networks can be deployed by the same hardware and software. Furthermore, LoRaWAN enhances robust end-to-end security through 128-bit AES encryption, safeguarding communications between end devices and application server.

Last but not least, it is quite cost-effective to deploy a LoRaWAN network, as it operates on a license-free spectrum which can eliminate expensive frequency spectrum license fees. Additionally, the overall low cost is driven together by several reasons, including minimal infrastructure requirements, low-cost LoRaWAN nodes, and open-source software, which can be suitable for deployment of large-scale devices. Meanwhile, the LoRa Alliance certification program ensures reliability and compliance, giving end-users confidence in their devices and the whole ecosystem.

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Current Status

Today, LoRaWAN boasts a thriving ecosystem, composed by numerous vendors and customers for a wide range of applications. It has emerged as a pivotal player in global IoT market, particularly in sensor networks and applications requiring hourly data transmission under diverse conditions. Despite Cisco's recent announcement to quit LoRaWAN market and stop sale new LoRaWAN gateway products on January 1st, 2025, the market impact is limited due to ongoing innovation by other players such as MultiTech and Kerlink.

The application scenarios of LoRaWAN technology are unlimited. In healthcare, it is used for monitoring vaccine cold chains and fall detections of patients. While in transportation industry, it enables tracking the location, condition, as well as movements of endangered species and various cargo. For smart cities, LoRaWAN can significantly enhance the management of city infrastructure, such as water networks management and waste bin collection schedules planning. Moreover, this technology can even provide worldwide coverage through satellites.

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Future Trends

Despite regulatory challenges in some regions for public network deployments, innovative solutions based on LoRaWAN are thriving in localized and private network scenarios. With more network operators globally adopting LoRaWAN standards, its growth will be further driven by an increasing number of vendors and partners joining the LoRaWAN ecosystem, fostering technological advancements and market penetration. This could be evidenced by Amazon AWS’s release of LoRaWAN-based products in September of last year, as well as global module manufacturer Quectel’s recent introduction of LoRa Antennas to its modules earlier this month.

As IoT technology evolves, LoRa and LoRaWAN will continue to broaden their horizons, bringing unprecedented convenience and possibilities to our lives and work. Based on the current situation, the applications of LoRaWAN will extend beyond early use cases into more diverse smart scenarios, including but not limited to smart healthcare, logistics, and smart campuses. This expansion will be fueled by performance enhancements and reliability improvements in each further version.

MOKO SMART, the pioneering IoT hardware solution manufacturer, will endeavor to explore the vast potential of LoRaWAN technologies. Visit MOKO SMART to learn more about our LoRaWAN products and how we can help you leverage this revolutionary technology for your business needs!