LoRa and LoRaWAN

LoRa and LoRaWAN have significant differences in data transmission rate and coverage, mainly due to their different design goals and applications.

1.Data transfer rate

(1). LoRa: The transmission rate is relatively low, usually between 0.3 kbps and 27 kbps. The LoRa rate can be adjusted by adjusting the spreading factor (SF). The higher the spreading factor, the lower the transmission rate, but the signal anti-interference and transmission distance are longer.

(2). LoRaWAN: The transmission rate of LoRaWAN depends on the LoRa physical layer modulation technology, and the protocol layer balances the transmission rate of each node by allocating different spreading factors. In actual applications, the rate is usually from several hundred bps to several kbps. For scenarios that require higher rates, LoRaWAN may not be applicable.

Differences between LoRa and LoRaWAN in transmission rate and coverage.webp

2.Coverage

(1). LoRa: LoRa's physical layer modulation technology enables it to reach a transmission distance of 10 to 15 kilometers in open environments. In complex environments such as cities, the coverage range will be affected by buildings and other obstacles, and is usually between 2 and 5 kilometers. The transmission distance is also closely related to the spreading factor and transmission power: the higher the spreading factor and the greater the power, the wider the coverage range.

(2). LoRaWAN: As a network protocol, LoRaWAN does not directly define the coverage range, but it achieves large-area coverage by coordinating multiple LoRa gateways.

In practical applications, the coverage range of the LoRaWAN network can be expanded by deploying multiple gateways, and theoretically wide-area IoT coverage can be achieved.

For example, in smart city applications, multiple gateways can be distributed to cover the entire city and enhance the coverage range of IoT devices.

3.Summary

Data transmission rate: LoRa has limited data rate, but LoRaWAN protocol uses LoRa's spreading factor to adjust the rate, achieving better anti-interference and long-distance transmission at the expense of transmission rate.

Coverage: LoRa single node has a long coverage range in open environment, while LoRaWAN extends coverage through multi-gateway architecture, which is suitable for scenarios requiring wide-area coverage.

When designing IoT systems, the transmission rate and coverage of LoRa and LoRaWAN should be optimized according to specific application requirements to ensure network efficiency and coverage effect.

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