The Internet of Things is experiencing a pivotal moment today, and to drive the mass deployment of low-power, wide-area networks (LPWANs), standards and a robust and growing ecosystem are critical. These LPWANs are expected to connect 50% of the expected IoT volumes.
Since its founding in March 2015, the LoRa Alliance® has become the fastest growing and most influential technology alliance with more than 500 members supporting the LoRaWAN® open standard for LPWAN networks. The organization has taken a leading role in standardizing these networks through the LoRaWAN® specification. In addition, it has created a certification and conformance program to ensure interoperability. This allows LoRaWAN® end devices to be deployed in multiple networks and to roam from one network to another regardless of network infrastructure or carrier.
The alliance has members worldwide, including multinational telecommunications companies, equipment manufacturers, system integrators, sensor manufacturers, start-ups and semiconductor companies. This diverse membership demonstrates the LoRa Alliance®'s global reach and impact on the IoT industry.
We had the pleasure of interviewing Donna Moore, CEO of the LoRa Alliance®. During our conversation, we explored various relevant aspects, such as the benefits of LPWAN networks, support for ESG initiatives, the latest developments of LoRaWAN® and its contribution to Industry 5.0, as well as the outstanding LoRaWAN® Professional Accreditation Program, among other topics of interest.
What is the current state of LoRaWAN® deployment coverage and how has it evolved over time in terms of geographic reach and availability in different regions?
There are LoRaWAN terrestrial networks available in nearly every country around the world and global coverage fully enabled via satellite. LoRaWAN can be deployed using a variety of network models, including public, private, community, satellite and hybrid, which is why global network coverage was achieved within 5 years of the LoRa Alliance being founded.
In the context of IoT applications, what is the advantage of LPWAN technology, such as LoRaWAN®, compared to other current technologies, such as classic cellular and satellite-based connectivity? Are LPWANs really necessary?
Low-power wide area networks (LPWANs), like LoRaWAN are key for massive IoT and offer the best, most cost-effective connectivity solution for applications that do not need to send large amounts of data, for example battery-powered sensors. LoRaWAN has many advantages for IoT applications, including:
- Delivering deep indoor coverage, connecting end devices located in basements, underground, and through metal and concrete.
- Providing long range communication, up to 5 kilometers in cities and up to 15 kilometers in rural areas.
- Devices consume very little power so can run on batteries for up to 10 years.
- Use of 128-bit cryptographic keys and algorithms to provide end-to-end security.
- Flexible network deployment options as previously mentioned.
- The ability to update devices remotely with firmware updates over the air (FUOTA)
LoRaWAN also has a significant benefit in terms of the distances over which it can transmit data (up to 10km) as well as the ability to transmit through metal, concrete and underground, where other wireless technologies are less effective. End users should adopt the right technology to solve their specific use case.
Last year, LoRa Alliance® organized the LoRaWAN® World Expo (LWE), with more than 120 speakers in 69 presentations where the LoRaWAN® ecosystem demonstrated its power. The event covered all kinds of topics, from how to quickly build a network to how LoRaWAN® supports ESG (environmental, social and governance) initiatives and drives ROI. The CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) concept was also discussed. Considering this broad topic, it is interesting to inquire about the relationship that may exist between a technology such as LoRaWAN® and sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. How can LoRaWAN® contribute to environmental, social and economic sustainability? How can this technology be aligned with the Corporate Social Responsibility objectives of companies?
LoRaWAN is a strong enabler of ESG and CSR initiatives because it provides organizations the ability to measure their efforts and make the necessary changes to improve their results based on the data. This also makes organizations accountable to their stakeholders. It allows businesses to manage and reduce environmental impact, improve operational efficiencies and drive business value. Examples of how LoRaWAN can be used in the ESG and CSR arenas include monitoring and managing resource consumption (e.g., for utilities), improving labor resource allocation, strengthening energy efficiency, and detecting and stopping water and gas leaks to conserve resources and optimize safety. Such applications are critical to help improve efficiencies and achieve ESG goals, and LoRaWAN deployments can collect the data to measure against those goals.
2022 was also the year that LoRa Alliance® launched IPv6 over LoRaWAN®, opening up a wide range of new markets. LoRaWAN® is now perfectly compatible with Internet Protocol version 6. This enables Internet-based standards in areas such as electricity metering, smart buildings, industries, logistics, homes, among others. To what extent has this been a significant evolution for LoRaWAN®? What opportunities or benefits are opened up by enabling IPv6 over LoRaWAN®?
Offering LoRaWAN over IPv6 represents a significant evolution of LoRaWAN as part of the LoRa Alliance’s approach of integrating multiple technologies to achieve end-to-end solutions. It also allows us to provide increased, standards-based interoperability. Because IPv6 is a core technology underpinning IoT, enabling IPv6 over LoRaWAN opens a huge number of new markets and a much larger addressable application space to LoRaWAN.
The IPv6 adaptation layer facilitates and accelerates development of secure and interoperable applications over LoRaWAN and builds on the LoRa Alliance’s commitment to ease of use. IP-based solutions, commonly found in enterprise and industrial solutions, among many others, can now be transmitted over LoRaWAN, and easily integrated with cloud infrastructures. This allows developers to quickly enable internet-based applications, while significantly reducing time-to-market and total cost of ownership.
What are the main contributions of Industry 5.0 compared to Industry 4.0 and how does the LoRa Alliance® ecosystem contribute to this evolution?
Industry 5.0 builds on Industry 4.0 by incorporating the human element, guided largely by ESG initiatives that seek to strengthen sustainability, efficiency and quality of life for the world’s citizens. It aims beyond efficiency and productivity as the sole goals and reinforces the role and the contribution of industry to society with more human-machine collaboration and human-centric solutions. Businesses recognize that achieving their goals takes more than operational improvements, and people and technology must work together to bring about change.
The LoRa Alliance ecosystem delivers end-to-end solutions across the value chain, which enable the holistic digital transformation––encompassing technology, data, new workflows, and operational realignments––needed to achieve industry 5.0’s objectives. LoRaWAN has taken a leadership position in this arena with millions of deployments that ultimately focus on increasing sustainability, improving operational effectiveness and improving quality of life.
How is openness and interoperability ensured in LoRa Alliance®, considering that the technology company Semtech is the sole supplier of the radio chips used in the implementation of LoRaWAN® networks?
First, multiple chip vendors are part of the LoRa Alliance ecosystem and supply chips that support LoRaWAN networks, so we are not in a single supplier situation. Second, openness and interoperability have been designed into the LoRaWAN standard, and the fact that we are recognized as an open international standard by ITU validates this status. Third, as an alliance, we operate under policies and procedures that ensure equal opportunity and treatment of all members, and part of LoRaWAN’s success can be attributed to the Alliance’s highly collaborative ecosystem which enables development and delivery of end-to-end solutions.
What is the main objective of the LoRaWAN® Professional Accreditation Program presented by LoRa Alliance® and how is it expected to address the needs and demands of today's market in terms of qualified professionals?
LoRaWAN is a mature technology with massive deployments and the largest IoT ecosystem, and the new accreditation program supports the growing need for skilled LoRaWAN professionals in the market. Developers and engineers who obtain accredited professional status will bring strong knowledge of LoRaWAN to support IoT projects globally. The program also affords
significant benefits to technical IoT professionals, consultants, engineers, and developers who successfully achieve LoRaWAN Accredited Professional status, including:
- Proof of qualification to develop and deploy LoRaWAN solutions
- Enhanced customer confidence in your abilities
- Increased job security and promotion opportunities
- Reduced on-the-job training time
- Increased opportunities when applying for a new job
- More authority and a larger voice in professional groups, raising your profile in the industry
What are the upcoming events to be organized by LoRa Alliance® and what can we expect at these?
Our next event is LoRaWAN Live Tokyo, taking place at the Hilton Tokyo Shinjuku on October 11-12, 2023. This two-day public event features groundbreaking keynotes, panel discussions, live demonstrations, a poster session and innovations marketplace. The event offers the opportunity to learn how LoRaWAN is transforming the buildings, retail, cities, industry, manufacturing, agriculture, and utilities markets in Asia and across the globe and is the best opportunity to discover the latest LoRaWAN developments, find solutions, learn about device certification, how to become a LoRaWAN Accredited Professional, network and generate opportunities to grow your business.
(Donna Moore - LoRa Alliance)
