Planning lorawan

What is LoRaWAN®?

The LoRaWAN® specification is a Low Power, Wide Area (LPWAN) networking protocol designed to wirelessly connect low energy devices to the internet in regional, national or global networks, and targets key Internet of Things (IoT) requirements such as bi-directional communication, end-to-end security, mobility and localization services. Read more...

Do I need a LoRaWAN® ?

This is a connected device (sensor). The LoRaWAN® connection is used to transmit data to a server at regular intervals having a real time coverage of the traffic situation.

Do I need to run my own LoRaWAN® ?

No.

There are professional LoRaWAN® Networks Providers with fully managed offerings including support. Ask Google to find such a provider in your area.

Should I operate my own private LoRaWAN®?

It is possible to run private LoRaWAN® networks including own LNS and Gateways. Although we do not recommend it and won't be able to support it. If there is no professional provider in your area this might be the only option to operate TCR traffic counters.

Take following advice based on our experiences:

  • Use only quality LoRaWAN Gateways from famous manufacturers such as Tektelic or Kerlink.
  • Use Loriot Free Community Public Server to get started. Later you can switch to Professional Offering. Loriot.io is good software. We did not see major issues so far.
  • Use ThingPark®. ThingPark® Enterprise is an IoT connectivity management solution allowing to deploy a dedicated and fully controlled LoRaWAN® network for a fast use case enablement.
Can I use collaborative LoRaWAN® networks?

We do not recommend using community operated LoRaWAN® networks for professional applications. (Would you like to fly to mars with a RaspberryPI controlled rocket!?)

Why we do not recommend it?

  • There is nobody you can contact except "the community".
  • Coverage of community networks is not guaranteed. Gateways can be switched on or off at any time changing the whole coverage map.
  • Usually these networks are based on very limited hardware.
  • Limited knowledge on building wireless networks including the selection of suitable locations and antenna optimization.
Can I use The Things Network (TTN)?

Technically yes, but we do not recommended it.

The Things Network (TTN) is the free community network, that’s mainly operated by TTI on best effort.

There is a Fair Use Policy which limits the uplink airtime to 30 seconds per day (24 hours) per node and the downlink messages to 10 messages per day (24 hours) per node.

You may get support from volunteers, at the TTN forum but they cannot access the network servers to analyze or fix anything.

Due to TTN is very limited we do not recommend using it together with our products because it restricts the functional potential.

Do you provide payload decoder example code?

We have a public repository where you can download a payload decoder code examples as a starting point to write your own decoder.