LoRaWAN is a low-power, wide-area network (LPWAN) protocol that wirelessly connects battery-operated devices to the Internet. LoRaWAN uses LoRa as the physical layer. LoRa can be thought of as the radio signal technology (similar to Wi-Fi or cellular), while LoRaWAN is the protocol and network architecture that manages communication over that signal. Together, LoRa and LoRaWAN provide a solution for connecting low-power devices over long distances, making them a key technology for the Internet of Things (IoT). The technology is primarily used for applications where small amounts of data need to be transmitted infrequently from hard-to-reach locations, such as in smart agriculture, industrial monitoring, and asset tracking. The technology was originally developed by the French company Cycleo, which was acquired by Semtech in 2012, and the LoRaWAN standard is now managed by the LoRa Alliance.
LoRaWAN elaboration
While LoRa defines the lower physical layer, LoRaWAN is the system architecture for the network. LoRaWAN defines the communication protocol for managing communication between low-power end-node devices and gateways. The LoRaWAN network architecture consists of three main components:
End Devices: These are the small, battery-powered sensors or trackers that are spread out in the field. Each device has a LoRa chip that allows it to transmit small packets of data over long distances using the LoRa radio protocol. Its MAC layer is configured from the Network Server. Gateways (Base Stations): A gateway is a receiving station that is connected to the internet. It listens on multiple channels for signals from all the LoRaWAN end devices within its range. When a gateway receives a data packet from a device, it forwards it to the central network server without processing it. A key feature of LoRaWAN is that a single data packet from a device can be picked up by multiple gateways simultaneously, which increases the network's reliability. When commanded by the Network Server to transmit data it derives all LoRa PHY configurations per packet. Therefore it requires no MAC layer. Network Server: This is the central cloud-based software that manages the entire network. It receives the data from all the gateways, removes duplicate messages, and then routes the data to the correct application server. It is also responsible for managing the communication frequencies, data rate, and power for all end devices. Devices in the network are asynchronous and transmit when they have data available to send. Data transmitted by an end-node device is received by multiple gateways, which then forward the data packets to the centralized network server. The data is then forwarded to an associated application server.
CSMA for LoRaWAN In the wireless communication, particularly across the IoT applications, collision avoidance is essential for reliable communication and overall spectral efficiency. Previously, LoRaWAN has relied upon ALOHA as the medium access control (MAC) layer protocol, but to improve this, the LoRa Alliance's Technical Recommendation TR013 introduced CSMA-CA. Employing the CAD based CSMA technique specified in TR013 enhances LoRaWAN's spectrum efficiency and ensures more reliable device communication, including in congested environments. TR013 is based on the LMAC and is the first industry-academia collaboration of LoRa Alliance to have resulted in a Technical Recommendation.
Version history January 2015: 1.0 February 2016: 1.0.1 July 2016: 1.0.2 October 2017: 1.1, adds Class B July 2018: 1.0.3 October 2020: 1.0.4
Governance
The LoRa Alliance is nonprofit organization located in Fremont, California supporting the LoRaWAN standard and deployments in remote or hard-to-reach locations. Members include Actility, Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Everynet, Helium, Kerlink, MachineQ, Microsoft, MikroTik, Minol Zenner, Netze BW, Semtech, Senet, STMicroelectronics, TEKTELIC,Orbiwise SA and The Things Industries. In 2018, the LoRa Alliance had over 100 LoRaWAN network operators in over 100 countries; in 2023, there are nearly 200, providing coverage in nearly every country in the world. On October 1, 2024, Cisco announced it is "exiting the LoRaWAN space" with no planned migration for Cisco LoRaWAN gateways.
See also CC430 – an MCU & sub-1 GHz RF transceiver SoC Narrowband IoT – narrowband Internet of things LTE Cat M1 – Cellular device technology MIoTy – sub-GHz LPWAN technology for sensor networks SCHC – static context header compression Short-range device – Class of radio transmitter
References
Further reading Olivier Bernard André Seller. "Wireless communication method" U.S. Patent No. 9,647,718. 9 September 2015. Lee, Chang-Jae, Ki-Seon Ryu, and Beum-Joon Kim. "Periodic ranging in a wireless access system for mobile station in sleep mode." U.S. Patent No. 7,194,288. 20 March 2007. Ghoslya, Sakshama (2019-04-17). "How to generate LoRa Symbols". All About LoRa and LoRaWAN. Quigley, Thomas J., and Ted Rabenko. "Latency reduction in a communications system." U.S. Patent No. 7,930,000. 19 April 2011. Bankov, D.; Khorov, E.; Lyakhov, A. "On the Limits of LoRaWAN Channel Access". 2016 International Conference on Engineering and Telecommunication (EnT): 10–14. Seneviratne, Pradeeka. "Beginning LoRa Radio Networks with Arduino - Build Long Range, Low Power Wireless IoT Networks." Apress, 2019, eBook ISBN 978-1-4842-4357-2, Softcover ISBN 978-1-4842-4356-5, Ed: 1
External links LoRa Alliance LoRaWAN Resource Library LoRa at Semtech Cycleo website at the Wayback Machine (archived 2011-07-29)