Mobile network operators (MNOs) used to rule the Internet of Things (IoT) airwaves; they owned the spectrum, which they had licensed from national regulators. That monopoly position was challenged by mobile virtual network operators, says Bob Emmerson, technology editor of Beecham Research. MVNOs competed by reselling the spectrum, but until recently there was no wide-area terrestrial alternative to cellular communications.
Moreover, a viable alternative would have to operate on unlicensed spectrum and the technology designed to be very secure. That was a big ask, but it was realised by Semtech, a company with 60 years of experience in designing and manufacturing proprietary platforms.
Becoming a standard
Semtech developed the first commercial chipsets for LoRa, a proprietary radio technology that is based on CSS (Chirp Spread Spectrum) modulation technology. The company also pioneered the LoRaWAN, a Low Power Wide Area Networking (LPWAN) communication protocol. LoRaWAN is a de facto standard for interoperability that is managed by the non-profit LoRa Alliance. When it was recognised by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) it became a de jure standard.
LoRa was designed to support low-cost, battery-operated IoT applications, which are the fastest growing sector of IoT. According to Semtech, LoRaWAN consumes three to five times less power than NB-IoT (narrowband IoT). Services operate on unlicensed spectrum: the ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) band.
The combined LoRa / LoRaWAN capability has expanded the market for wide area IoT solutions. It represents a genuine game-changer, as evidenced by these figures. ABI Research estimates that by 2026 LoRa will be the non-cellular low power, wide area network technology and it will be employed in 25% of all LPWAN network connections. Figures from IoT Analytics show LoRa connections increasing 31% year-on-year from 2020 to 2024.
As illustrated, LoRa’s key parametre is range. The relatively low bandwidth does not impact low-power, low data rate applications.
It has also enabled new entrants to build carrier-grade LoRaWAN networks and market wholesale coverage to next-gen network service providers. In turn this enables the development of innovative solutions for key verticals such as smart metering as well as smart city applications, which include managing lighting, streamlining waste management services, and checking air quality.
In 2020 the LoRa Alliance introduced the LoRaWAN Device Identification QR Codes for Automated Onboarding that simplify and accelerate LoRaWAN network management. The QR codes can be printed on devices and contain all of the required device and vendor information, pre-formatted, to ensure standardised input into a network management system.
Satellite connectivity
Satellite connectivity is normally employed when there is no terrestrial cellular coverage, but an asset needs to be tracked, e.g., mining at a remote location or containers on a ship. Today, non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO such as LEO) and GSO satellites are both providing high-speed broadband and narrowband services for backhaul, IoT and private networks. The new generation of LEO satellites are already providing ubiquitous low-latency, high-throughput connectivity.
Enabling secure interoperability with terrestrial LoRa networks can be realised using the LoRa wireless protocol. However, in 2020, the LoRa Alliance released LoRaWAN of Regional Parameters RP2-1.0.2. The new parameters included support for long range-frequency hopping spread spectrum. This addition effectively made LoRaWAN capable of robust satellite communication. This development also made LoRaWAN less susceptible to local interference and it increased capacity, both of which are needed for long-range communications.
Additional benefits are gained from the use of LoRa Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum [LR-FHSS] in the 2 GHz licensed S-Band. Developed by Semtech, LR-FHSS allows direct satellite data links from IoT devices with greater reliability, higher performance, and lower power consumption. The use of LR-FHSS provides several advantages over conventional LoRa, including enhanced data rates, increased network capacity and additional robustness to interference, allowing many new deployment opportunities.
Less than 20% of the Earth’s surface has terrestrial connectivity. Due to the significantly lower density user base in remote areas and the practical difficulty of providing a network at sea, it’s unlikely that terrestrial services will ever expand significantly beyond their current deployment. This leaves a requirement for connectivity that is best served by satellite as well as cost-effective LoRaWAN deployments at that those remote locations.
GEO satellites
Orbiting at some 36,000 kilometres above the Earth, GEO satellites have been used for more than 50 years. They travel at the same angular velocity as the Earth and therefore they appear to remain fixed above the same point on Earth. A single satellite can provide coverage to one third of the Earth and three GEO satellites can provide services to any location on the Earth except the polar regions.
This feature has been leveraged by EchoStar Mobile, a mobile satellite services company. The company has created a GEO LoRa satellite network operating in the licensed S-band that can interoperate with the terrestrial ISM band of LoRa networks. This dual mode capability enables IoT solution developers to use a single technology in their solution design, which can use terrestrial or satellite as needed, without having to undertake an expensive integration with satellite hardware.
Any device can use the ISM band so long as it conforms to the standards laid out for the band by the relevant regulatory authority. Some of the key parameters for these devices are transmit and receive power. They also need the ability to withstand interference from any other approved devices operating in the band.
For more detail on this, see the new Beecham Research report ‘IoT for Logistics: Managing Supply Chains Everywhere’ available via free download at here.
The author is Bob Emmerson, technology editor of Beecham Research.
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