LoRaWAN Technology

LoRaWAN has become the de facto standard for Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) worldwide, with more than 40% of all LPWANs forecast to run on LoRaWAN by 2023 (IHS MarketInsider 2019). The open LoRaWAN protocol offers an efficient, flexible and economical solution to real-world problems and can be complementary to other network technologies.

IoT Connectivity: Where LPWANs Fit

The cost and functionality gap between cellular and local-area networks has been filled by LPWAN technologies, which enable low power, long range sensor applications where only small amounts of data are required.

It is estimated that more than half of all IoT solutions will be best suited for LPWAN connectivity.

LoRaWAN Complements Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Cellular

Like Wi-Fi, LoRaWAN operates in the unlicensed band and supports indoor applications. Like cellular, LoRaWAN technology is highly secure from end devices to the application server, and is suitable for outdoor applications.

LoRaWAN technology offers an efficient, flexible and economical connectivity solution ideal for IoT applications. Simple sensor data can fuel analytics platforms, such as those for artificial intelligence and machine learning. These require data diversity which is made possible by low-cost LoRaWAN-enabled sensors.

Read LoRaWAN & NB-IOT blog

LoRaWAN: The ideal low power wide area network

Ultra Low Power

LoRaWAN devices are optimised for a battery life of up to 15 years

Low Cost

Low connectivity, installation and lifetime costs

Long Range

Long range and deep indoor coverage

Secure

The LoRaWAN specification uses embedded end-to-end AES-128 encryption of data

Multi Usage

High capacity, multi tenant public network. Each gateway can support millions of data transmissions per day

Open standards

Global open standard technology supported by a massive open multi-vendor ecosystem

Scalable

Secure central control of multiple devices

Low Cost

Applicable to the widest range of use cases from custom built devices to mature global devices

Multiple vendors across every layer of the solution

LoRaWAN is a global open standards technology with no single components across the end-to-end architecture. It can be deployed and managed by a multitude of vendors, opening up a large global ecosystem and insuring against vendor-lock issues.

LoRaWAN networks are safe

LoRaWAN gateways and devices are considered to be safe. Unlike mobile phones, LoRaWAN devices do not emit continuously and use much lower power. A LoRaWAN device can live for several years without recharging the battery (some live indefinitely on solar power) and each device follows local regulations which limit the transmitted levels. LoRaWAN gateways also use extremely low power.

LoRaWAN uses unlicensed Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) frequency bands, which have been used by other systems for dozens of years. ISM is a band of radio and microwave frequencies reserved and designated for industrial, scientific and medical equipment.

LoRaWAN in Australia: The AS923 Band

AS923 is becoming the de facto band plan for LoRaWAN in Australia and Asia Pacific. As device manufacturers increasingly move to AS923 for the region, sensors and devices are becoming more readily available in this band providing economies of scale within the ecosystem. There are also more network operators working in the AS923 channel plans which will facilitate roaming and international opportunities. Globally we will see three main channel plans dominating – AS923 for Oceania and Asia, US915 for the Americas and EU868 for Europe and much of the rest of the world.

World’s fastest growing technology alliance

NNNCo is a contributing member of the LoRa Alliance, the world’s largest and fastest growing alliance in the technology sector. The LoRa Alliance’s ecosystem of over 500 members includes 96 public network operators with service in 51 countries and growing. Public, private and hybrid LoRaWAN networks are globally available in a total of 100 countries. This existing infrastructure makes it easy and efficient to deploy solutions immediately.

Find out more about the LoRa Alliance