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LoRaWAN is a protocol for connecting battery-powered sensors to the internet over long distances. A water meter sensor in a basement can report its reading to a gateway 3 km away, once an hour, on a single battery that lasts 7-10 years. That is the core LoRaWAN use case.
LoRaWAN defines the complete network stack: how devices join the network, how data is encrypted, how a gateway forwards packets to the network server, and how the server routes them to the application. Key points for deployers:
- EU 868 MHz band – duty cycle rules limit each sub-band to 1% airtime; ADR manages this automatically
- AES-128 encryption – two independent key layers protect both network and payload separately
- Star-of-stars topology – devices connect to gateways, gateways connect to a network server
- Compatible network servers – The Things Network, ChirpStack, Actility, and Milesight’s own platform
- LoRa Alliance certification – certified hardware is confirmed interoperable across the ecosystem