The LoRa Alliance published its 2022 end of year report highlighting adoption of LoRaWAN technology as well as certification advancements – and has given itself a stellar grade on its progress.

LoRaWAN, an LPWAN protocol designed to connect battery-operated ‘things’ to the internet in regional, national or global networks, is now a ‘mature’ technology, in the verdict of the LoRa Alliance.

This is not just an empty platitude, either; at the end of 2021 LoRaWAN was formally recognised as a standard by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Other benchmarks claimed by the Alliance include the largest and most diverse IoT ecosystem – more than 400 members, from adopters, to contributors, to sponsors – as well as being the only LPWAN with network options, from public to private, to satellite, community and hybrid.

The number of certified LPWAN devices stands at almost 200, with the LoRa Alliance noting this is the greatest choice of device vendors and diversity of devices on the market.

One of the key elements in the progress of LoRaWAN is its use cases around air monitoring, food supplies, water quality, and other necessities. Donna Moore, CEO and chairwoman of the LoRa Alliance, noted that as ‘unprecedented headwinds’ have come about in recent years, this has strengthened the technology’s proposition. “The world’s headwinds are in fact tailwinds for LoRaWAN technology,” wrote Moore.

Moore added that companies are now moving on from the ‘what’ of LoRaWAN to the ‘how’ of deployment. This includes how to augment existing devices, how to upgrade platforms to integrate with LoRaWAN, and – eventually – how to scale up solutions. “As end users move from exploratory stages and proof of concepts into massive adoption, integrators and solutions providers across a variety of industries are intensifying their sales efforts and growing LoRaWAN deployments exponentially,” noted Moore.

From a technical standpoint, the key achievement in 2022 was support for IPv6 over LoRaWAN announced in May. This has enabled a broader addressable IoT market for the technology, to include internet-based standards required in smart electricity metering, as well as new applications in smart buildings, industries, logistics, and homes.

“We will continue to evolve and enhance LoRaWAN, while staying focused on our core strengths – which creates unlimited opportunities for our members and the broader LoRaWAN ecosystem,” added Moore. “Nothing will distract us or pull us off course from reaching our vision of empowering sustainable IoT to maximise efficiency, improve quality of life and protect the planet’s resources.”

You can read the full report here (no email required).

Picture credit: LoRa Alliance

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Tags: connectivity, IoT, lorawan, lpwan