LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) enables far-reaching networking of end devices without local infrastructure and in an open standard.
For IoT applications where small amounts of data are to be transmitted over long distances, LoRaWAN is one of the most important radio standards. Other crucial aspects are low energy consumption and market-friendly costs. In particular, where Many end devices distributed in different locations store small amounts of data over long periods of operationLoRaWAN is suitable for collecting and reporting to a central location.
So private and municipal utilities often use LoRaWAN for Smart Metering, that is The remote reading of electricity, gas, or water meters, one. The meters are equipped with battery-powered LoRaWAN modules and send their consumption data at fixed intervals. Traffic lighting or parking space occupancy in „Smart Cities“ can also be easily and flexibly controlled using LoRaWAN sensors. Sensors reliably identify traffic or parking space occupancy and transmit the information directly to the server. In industrial plants and logistics centers, LoRaWAN is used for monitoring machine conditions, containers, or mobile assets. Sensors measure, for example, temperature, vibration, or filling levels and automatically report deviations to connected systems.
LoRaWAN is maintenance- and cost-free
The advantages are obvious: LoRaWAN sensors transmit data without difficulty over several kilometers and enable effective coverage of large areas with only a few gateways. Since the end devices are only briefly transmitting and are otherwise largely in energy-saving mode, battery life of several years and low maintenance costs result depending on the device class. SIM cards, mobile phone contracts, and frequency licenses are not required: Operation in unlicensed ISM bands leads to low operating costs. Another advantage is the high scalability of the technology, as Individual gateways can serve thousands of end devices and provide small payloads and infrequent transmissions for efficient use of radio resources. The sensors transmit data even from basements, shafts, underground car parks, or industrial environments, where other radio technologies often fail. LoRaWAN offers end-to-end encryption natively, as well as clearly separated keys for network and application-level security from the factory. Customers from all industries can rely on the open standard with a large ecosystem and a wide range of hardware and platform offerings, without the risk of vendor lock-in.
This radio standard is established and further developed by the LoRa Alliance. It defines specifications, regional parameters, and certification procedures so that certified devices behave predictably in compliant networks and can be easily combined with gateways, network servers, and platforms from various manufacturers.
Christoph Schneider, Area Coordinator in the Regulatory Services Radio department, explains: „From the perspective of our Regulatory Services Radio Lab, we are particularly observing the further market development of LoRaWAN . We are curious to see which application areas the technology will establish itself in and which requirements will ultimately determine the outcome. Of course, we are already offering the Tests according to EN 300 220 for all device developers and manufacturers.“
More detailed information about LoRaWAN can be found here: https://cetecomadvanced.com/de/fachartikel/lorawan/