LoRaWAN ‘sees’ growth of over 60 percent in 2018 covering nearly 100 countries
According to Donna Moore, CEO and Chairwoman of the LoRa Alliance, the phenomenal growth in LoraWAN deployments of over 60 percent in 2018 underscores how rapidly the technology is being adopted, especially when one considers that the LoRa Alliance is only just over 3 years old.
Based on a chirp modulation spectrum, LoRaWAN delivers the lowest power network versus distance making it ideal for most IoT devices that are either low-bandwidth or transmit infrequently, and especially those that rely on battery power or energy harvesting.
LoRaWAN networks are being actively deployed globally, with the Asia-Pacific and European regions showing the most growth, at 30% and 50%, respectively, throughout 2018. Regional specifications are established in all key regions with additional regions being added continuously. The total operator investment in LoRaWAN is significant on a global basis, offering compelling proof that network operators are making a long-term commitment to the LoRaWAN standard and supporting the market demand for IoT applications.
Donna Moore explains why LoRaWAN is the best choice, “Only LoRaWAN has strong, established networks with broad coverage areas, while also offering the private network option. For companies looking to launch IoT products and solutions today, the LoRaWAN standard is the only viable solution. Features like firmware updates over the air and the fact that LoRaWAN is an open specification with a robust certification program ensure network and device interoperability. These benefits give confidence to the market that companies are future-proofed and can deploy solutions today with assurance they will work in the future.”
See also: Latest LoRaWAN specs standardize firmware updates OTA
The adoption of LoRaWAN is driven by a variety of factors, including support for private network capability, a key factor driving growth, especially for industrial installations where companies want to have full control over their network, access and data. In addition, the ability to provide firmware updates over the air (FUOTA) is a key differentiator and critical for future-proofing today’s deployments.
See also: Semtech and CRA cover 75% of the Czech Republic with LoRaWAN
The LoRa Alliance™ ecosystem is based on an open standard protocol that future-proofs the technology – and supports a collaborative input to develop the standard. This open-standard also delivers a wide choice and high degree of flexibility when developing systems as users can leverage the best technology for their specific products.
The utility and reach of LoRaWAN is summed up in the following quotes, one form a growing economy and the other from a developed economy.
“LoRaWAN has seen tremendous interest and growth in India in the past year. In that market alone we already provide network coverage in 30 cities to support IoT applications such as smart metering, smart parking, and smart waste management solutions and see no signs of this slowing as we enter 2019,” states Ali Hosseini, Founder & CEO, SenRa.
“Building a powerful IoT ecosystem that aided in the acceleration of IoT enabled innovation is paramount for Swisscom,” says Julian Dömer, Head of IoT, Swisscom. “As a result we were among the first operators to roll out LoRaWAN nationwide in 2016. Today, the Swisscom LoRaWAN network covers 96.6 Percent of the Swiss population.”
See also: End-to-end LoRa security for trusted and managed authentication
Looking forward, the LoRaWAN Alliance will be targeting specific verticals including logistics, Utilities, Smart Cities, Smart Buildings, Smart Homes, Smart Ag, Industrial IoT to show the value of LoRaWAN in key applications.
See also: LoRaWAN location tracking and roaming demonstrated at CES
In terms of certification the focus in the near future will be on adding RF testing as well as battery life as part of mandatory certification; developing pre-testing options to accelerate certification and make it easier and more feasible to have devices tested, and releasing certified reference stacks for developers to accelerate designs.
The LoRaWAN Alliance going forward will continue to expand roaming, tracking and FUOTA capabilities; create and release a LoRaWAN™ QR code format for device personalization; and continue to add regional parameters initially targeting Middle East and Africa.
See also: Arduino-compatible LoRaWAN dev board promises cheap IoT start
Public operators and private companies or individuals interested in deploying a LoRaWAN network can apply for a NetID from the LoRa Alliance, which can be assigned up to six months prior to joining the LoRa Alliance. Companies interested in learning more or requesting a NetID allocation should contact admin@mail.lora-alliance.org.
See also: LoRa Alliance announces global IoT roaming, device deployment LoRaWAN specs
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
