LoRaWAN Academy

The Key Advantage of LoRaWAN®

There are a number of differentiators for LoRa® devices and the LoRaWAN® protocol that have helped in its widespread adoption, including long range connectivity, battery lifetime, security, network architecture, and network capacity. However, there is one particular feature that will drive LoRaWAN adoption for years to come. Technical challenges or limitations (range, capacity, battery lifetime, etc.) are no longer a barrier to Internet of Things (IoT) adoption. The remaining challenges of the IoT are system integration, digital transformation, return-on-investment (ROI), service level agreements (SLA), and ensuring interoperability across an ecosystem.

Understanding the LoRaWAN® Architecture

LoRaWAN® networks primarily use the Aloha method for communication between end devices and their associated network servers. Using the Aloha method, end devices send data through a gateway to the network server only when one or more of their sensors notice a particular change in their environment or when some other event is triggered, such as a timer expiring. After the end device sends the uplink, it “listens” for a message from the network one and two seconds after the uplink before going back to sleep.