High-performance 3dBi Lora Antenna 868/915 MHz

LoRa technology and application

What is LoRaWAN?

LoRaWAN defines the communication protocol and system architecture of a network when enabling a long-distance communication link with the LoRa physical layer. The protocol and network architecture play a decisive role in the battery life of the nodes, network capacity, quality of service, encryption, and application service diversity.

LoRaWAN network architecture

Many of the networks have been deployed using a mesh network architecture. In a mesh network, independent end nodes can relay information from other nodes to extend the communication range and network coverage.

This increases range but also increases complexity and reduces network capacity and battery life as the nodes need to receive and relay information from other nodes that are not relevant to them. The long-range star architecture is most beneficial in extending battery life when using long-range connections.

Lora and NB-IoT are not in competition

As we all know, LoRa is a typical LPWAN technology that uses an unlicensed spectrum. In the LPWAN space, licensed spectrum technology will become the dominant technology in the next 1-2 years.

In the IoT space, the difference between licensed and unlicensed spectrum technologies is not necessarily at the technical level, but rather why a customer would choose to use a particular technology.

Lora and NB-IoT are not competing; the two technologies have different IoT application scenarios and concerns. Perhaps some users already working with an operator or intend to work with an operator may find a licensed technology such as NB-IoT more suitable for them.

But if the user wants to build their own network using the ISM band, or doesn’t want to spend too much time on SIM card security, then LoRa would be a more suitable choice for the user.

According to the report, LoRa technology currently has successful use cases in several markets, focusing on eight vertical markets: industrial control, metering, environment, urban, agriculture, supply chain, logistics, healthcare, and home and building.