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LoRa is a radio modulation technology that spreads a weak signal across a wide frequency range using a chirp pattern. This gives it exceptional range – typically 2-5 km in a city and up to 15 km in open countryside – at extremely low power consumption. It is the physical radio layer that LoRaWAN protocols are built on top of.
LoRa is the radio; LoRaWAN is the network. Think of LoRa as the engine and LoRaWAN as the car. You need to understand both, but when selecting hardware, the full LoRaWAN protocol stack is what matters for interoperability.
- Operates in unlicensed sub-GHz bands: 868 MHz in Europe, 915 MHz in North America
- Uses Chirp Spread Spectrum (CSS) modulation – resistant to interference and multipath fading
- Link budget up to 157 dB – 20-30 dB better than conventional radio modulation
- LoRa is a patented technology by Semtech; LoRaWAN is an open standard built on top of it