What is LoRa & LoRaWAN?

LoRa, which is short for Long Range, is one of the major long-range and low-power wireless communication systems developed by Semtech Corporation. While LoRa & LoRaWAN are commonly mistaken to be the same thing, they actually represent different components of a LoRa-based communication system.

LoRa is a radio frequency carrier signal based in the physical (PHY) layer that converts the data it receives to signals. On the other hand, LoRaWAN is a protocol located in the Media Access Control (MAC) layer that promotes LoRa signals to wider applications.

In simple terms, you can understand LoRa to be a type of hardware that supports long range wireless communication, whereas LoRaWAN refers to a network protocol based on LoRa.

Together, LoRa & LoRaWAN allow long-range, low-power applications to be built for IoT, enabling wireless transmission over distances of up to 45km! They are suitable for a variety of application environments, amongst other benefits and features shown below!