LoRa (“Long Range”) is a non-cellular long range and low power wireless technology.
The underlying RF modulation technology was developed by French Cycleo which was acquired by US-based Semtech in 2012
LoRaWAN network architecture is deployed in a star-of-stars topology in which gateways relay messages between end-devices and a central network server.
The technology was incorporated into Semtech’s RF platforms to expand the potential market of Industrial, Smart Cities and Home Automation RF applications, needing extended range at lower cost and lower power.
The patented LoRa wireless radio frequency technology stands for the physical layer protocol while LoRaWAN, developed by the LoRa Alliance, stands for the media access control layer protocol, which leverages and includes the physical LoRa modulation of Semtech.
LoRaWAN is now an ITU official standard titled as Recommendation ITU-T Y.4480 “Low power protocol for wide area wireless networks” and is under the responsibility of Study Group 20 of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), ITU’s standardization expert group for “Internet of Things and smart cities and communities.”
LoRaWAN networks, using the LoRaWAN protocol, are offered by over 70 network operators and there are LoRaWAN IoT deployments in more than 100 countries (private ones included).