Alliance enables global IoT roaming and device deployment

The LoRa Alliance released its latest technical specifications, which include roaming and separation of backend nodes, which will enable IoT devices to connect to and move between LPWANs around the world.

By LoRa Alliance October 17, 2017

The LoRa Alliance, the global association of companies backing the open LoRaWAN standard for Internet of Things (IoT) low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), released its latest technical specifications to kick off the organization’s 9th All Members Meeting (AMM) in Suzhou, China. New features in the latest specification releases include roaming and separation of backend nodes, which will enable IoT devices to connect to and move between LPWANs around the world. This supports large-scale deployments and enables new global services such as cargo tracking. Such features are critical in the Alliance’s mission to standardize LPWANs globally and drive widespread adoption of the LoRaWAN protocol as the de facto standard for IoT connectivity. The Alliance announced the availability of the following specifications:

  • LoRaWAN 1.1 with support for handover roaming, and Class B and security enhancements
  • LoRaWAN Backend Interfaces 1.0 with support for decomposing the network into interoperable nodes, as required for inter-vendor roaming
  • LoRaWAN 1.1 Regional Parameters rev. A, which describes region-specific radio parameters for LoRaWAN 1.1 end-devices

The enhancements are designed to offer functionality improvements for users in terms of interoperability and network reach. Specifically, support for roaming will allow for large-scale deployments, since vendors will know that their LoRaWAN protocol-based products could potentially operate worldwide. At the same time, the new backend specification provides the protocols that interconnect servers with distinct roles–such as controlling the MAC layer, end-point authentication, or applications–behind the scenes in the core network. Separating these servers allows an open choice of vendors for each element of the value chain, empowering the ecosystem.

"For the IoT to reach its forecast potential, an ability to deploy devices on a massive scale is a key enabler," said Geoff Mulligan, chariman of the LoRa Alliance. "The enhancements introduced today advance the LoRaWAN protocol, further opening up the ecosystem, enhancing interoperability and expanding the reach of existing LoRaWAN networks."

LoRa Alliance

www.loraalliance.org 

– Edited from a LoRa Alliance press release by CFE Media. See more Control Engineering IIoT and Industrie 4.0 stories.