What is the difference between LoRa^® and LoRaWAN^®?

LoRa is a wireless technology while LoRaWAN is a network protocol. To learn more, read the article below.

What is LoRa Technology?

LoRa is a wireless technology, such as Wi-Fi, LTE, NB-IoT, among others.

Its potential is infinite, and it was created for its application in IoT; among many of its advantages is the broad coverage range it has and the low energy consumption that it provides. It is the perfect option for solutions that require low data bandwidth and long-lasting autonomous operation.

LoRa Alliance^®

The LoRa Alliance manages LoRa technology; they have allowed through the alliance, control, certification, and standardization of hardware created for LoRa’s rapid growth of the use of the technology. They also have a lot of documentation regarding the vertical markets for applying the technology and the network coverage map globally.

LoRa uses a type of radiofrequency modulation patented by Semtech, called Chirp Spread Spectrum (CSS); it is perfect for vast and long-distance connections. Ideal for IoT networks, sensor networks that do not have access to the electrical network and provide precious information.

What is LoRaWAN?

There is a network protocol that uses the LoRa technology explained above, and it is LoRaWAN; this protocol is on top of the LoRa modulation, and in its layer, it applies the Media Access Control (MAC), it is the software layer that defines how the devices connected use LoRa. This means the message formats or the exchange of messages between the participants of the network.

What are the possible applications and use cases for LoRaWAN?

LoRaWAN is the de facto technology for a broad set of IoT applications and has a wide variety of vertical markets. Below are just some of the popular ones:

Logistics, management of transport fleets
Smart cities, parking sensors, waste management, smart lighting
Monitor the environment, floods, and alerts
The food industry, temperature monitoring for quality assurance
The agriculture industry, optimization of water use, prevention of damage to crops
Many more...

Advantages of using LoRaWAN protocol

The LoRaWAN protocol together with LoRa devices enables businesses and organizations around the world be efficient, improving the lives of many with practical applications mentioned above. LoRaWAN has its own advantages compared to different wireless standards available for IoT. Here are some of the advantages of using the LoRaWAN protocol:

It is optimized to operate in low power consumption and uses batteries for years
High capacity to handle millions of messages from thousands of gateways
End-to-end security, using AES-128 encryption
Remote firmware update of connected devices
License-free spectrum, no need to pay for network use
Deep penetration indoors, has good coverage indoors and in multi-story buildings
Long-range, a distance of 10+ kilometers in rural areas and up to 2 kilometers in urban areas
The data rates range of LoRaWAN starts from 0.3 kbps to 50 kbps

LoRaWAN operates in the ISM [Industrial, Scientific, and Medical] RF bands, which have different frequencies depending on the geographic location (reference table below):

Channel Plan	Common Name
AS923	AS923
AU915-928	CN470
CN470-510	AS923
CN779-787	CN779
EU433	EU433
EU863-870	EU868
IN865-867	IN865
KR920-923	KR920
RU864-870	RU864
US902-928	US915

If you need to search by country, use this link.

You may wonder about the characters of the network. To achieve the exchange of information and the deployment of the network that you need for your application, you will have the following:

Gateways: These are the base stations of the network that allow bidirectional communication between end-user nodes. They forward data to the LoRaWAN servers for processing.
Nodes: These devices have one or more sensors that acquire information and send it to the Gateways via their embedded LoRaWAN® communication capability.
LoRaWAN^® Network Server: Receives the information forwarded by the gateways and takes it to the respective application and vice versa. It also takes care of the authentication of devices on the network.
Application Server: It is the software integrated that runs and executes decisions, data visualizations, events, and more with the information collected.

There are three classes of end-devices that depend on the needs of the solution implementation.

Class A: This is the default class, and must be supported by all the end-devices which manage LoRaWAN® technology, has the lowest power consumption, is asynchronous, and is bi-directional communication.
Class B: Plus class A, this class is synchronized with the network using periodic beacons and ping slots at scheduled times.
Class C: Plus class A, this class reduces the latency keeping the receiver of each end-device open at all times, half-duplex communication. This compromises power consumption.

You can expand your knowledge with information on the devices we have for sale for your multiple applications in our store: store.rakwireless.com

What is the best way to implement LoRaWAN in your IoT projects?

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RAK gateways based on LoRaWAN technology

WisGate Edge Pro

Model: RAK7289V2/RAK7289CV2

The gateway supports up to 16 LoRa channels, multi backhaul with Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Cellular connectivity. Optionally there is a dedicated port for different power options and full integration with RAK Battery Plus off-grid power solution.