Global Milestone: LoRa Alliance Passes 100 LoRaWAN Network Operator Mark

The LoRa Alliance™, the global association of companies backing the open LoRaWAN™ protocol for the Internet of Things (IoT) low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), has experienced explosive growth in 2018, exceeding the 100 LoRaWAN network operators milestone globally at the end of December.

Wider availability of LoRaWAN networks makes it easier than ever to deploy IoT solutions leveraging existing infrastructure, allowing products and solutions to be offered and connected now.

More than 100 network operators have deployed and operate LoRaWAN networks, which are both public and private, significantly broadening the technology’s reach. This flexibility is a unique differentiator of LoRaWAN compared with other LPWAN technologies. In addition, the number of end-devices connected to LoRaWAN networks is reported to have tripled since the beginning of the year, which demonstrates significant acceleration of adoption compared with other technologies yet to achieve such an expansive footprint.

“Reaching this operator milestone is a major achievement for the LoRa Alliance,” said Donna Moore, CEO and Chairwoman of the LoRa Alliance. “Only LoRaWAN has strong, established networks with broad coverage areas, while also offering the private network option. For companies looking to launch IoT products and solutions today, the LoRaWAN standard is the only viable solution. Features like firmware updates over the air and the fact that LoRaWAN is an open specification with a robust certification program ensure network and device interoperability. These benefits give confidence to the market that companies are future-proofed and can deploy solutions today with assurance they will work in the future.”

LoRaWAN networks are being actively deployed globally, with the Asia-Pacific and European regions showing the most growth, at 30% and 50%, respectively, throughout 2018. Regional specifications are established in all key regions with additional regions being added continuously. The total operator investment in LoRaWAN is significant on a global basis, offering compelling proof that network operators are making a long-term commitment to the LoRaWAN standard and supporting the market demand for IoT applications.

“Orange is pleased to see the growth of the LoRaWAN ecosystem and the adoption of this open and interoperable standard in all parts of the world. Orange selected LoRaWAN™ for its first network dedicated to the IoT in 2016 to address sensors and other affordable objects consuming little energy. The Orange LoRaWAN network covers over 30,000 municipalities and 95% of the population of Metropolitan France. In 2018, Orange Slovakia launched a service using LoRaWAN for Smart Cities use cases. And to support its international customers and French companies with needs outside of France, Orange Business Services launched on-premise LoRaWAN connectivity suitable for a range of applications especially in smart cities and industry, including energy and fluid management, on-site tracking, geo-fencing, waste control, environmental metering, lighting and parking monitoring,” said, Ronan Le Bras, Head of Technical Strategy - Wireless Networks; Orange.

“American Tower’s (ATC’s) LoRaWAN-based network in Brazil already covers the metro areas of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte. These large markets are responsible for around 24% of the Brazilian GDP, and ATC plans to continue rolling out this network to cover 50% of the Brazilian GDP, or approximately 80 cities, by mid-2019. Brazil is a key component of ATC's global innovation strategy and a crucial market in Latin America. We believe we can continue to play a key role in the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure to support advanced use cases for a number of years to come,” explained, Abel Camargo, Senior Director of Strategy & New Business Development; American Tower Brazil.

“As a founding and contributing member of the LoRa Alliance, Senet is excited about this milestone. This is yet another proof point of how the open ecosystem and technical superiority of LoRaWAN have driven it to become a leading IoT communications technology. Leveraging these technical and ecosystem benefits, Senet offers cloud-based network operating platforms and network delivery services for the on-demand build-out of global LoRaWAN connectivity, coupled with the the tools needed to on-board and manage connected devices with the scale and security required by enterprise IoT applications. These platforms are being used today to operate the largest public carrier-grade LoRaWAN network in North America and deliver network coverage and connectivity readiness in over 80 countries. We look forward to supporting the LoRa Alliance and contributing to its expanding ecosystem in our collective efforts to achieve another record-setting year for LoRaWAN,” informed, Bruce Chatterley, CEO; Senet.

“LoRaWAN has seen tremendous interest and growth in India in the past year. In that market alone we already provide network coverage in 30 cities to support IoT applications such as smart metering, smart parking, and smart waste management solutions and see no signs of this slowing as we enter 2019,” said, Ali Hosseini, Founder & CEO, SenRa.

“We view LoRaWAN as the IoT technology of choice for Minol ZENNER Group because of its ability to bridge different IoT requirements and to enable real value-add benefits for all our customer segments in the group,” explained, Alexander Lehmann, GM; Minol ZENNER Group.

“Reaching the 101 LoRaWAN network milestone globally confirms the IoT acceleration and confirms Proximus’ ambition to guide all companies in their digital transformation,” says, Frédéric Lhostte, Head of IoT & Analytics; Proximus Group.

“This new milestone demonstrates the maturity of the market and the palatability of customers for LoRaWAN ™ around the world to grow their business,” said, Stéphane Allaire, President; Objenious by Bouygues Telecom.

"This is a huge milestone as it proves LoRaWAN Internet of Things, just as the real internet, doesn't care about country borders. With The Things Network and The Things Industries we are happy to be present in more than 89 countries and can provide LoRaWAN connectivity in all corners of the world," said, Wienke Giezeman, CEO & Co-founder, The Things Network.

"Building a powerful IoT ecosystem that aided in the acceleration of IoT enabled innovation is paramount for Swisscom. As a result we were among the first operators to roll out LoRaWAN nationwide in 2016. Today, the Swisscom LoRaWAN network covers 96.6 Percent of the Swiss population," explained, Julian Dömer, Head of IoT, Swisscom.

“DNX / Digital Nordix is an independent IoT/LoRaWAN™ operator that provides LoRaWAN network operation services in EMEA. DNX's has its DevOps base in Luleå Sweden and operates LoRaWAN networks in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Our focus is to ensure a robust and customizable wireless IoT network. Unlike other IoT providers, DNX works closely with independent partners to provide customization and system integration for best possible IoT solution,” informs, Mats Pettersson, CEO, Digital Nordix AB (DNX), Stockholm, Sweden.

“IoT can make processes more efficient, change our lives and our society for the better plus have a positive impact on the environment. LoRaWAN has dramatically accelerated the diffusion and adoption of IoT applications all around the globe. LORIOT was one of the first movers in the market, and our Network Server is designed for interoperability and flexibility in order to meet the requirements of every kind of user, from IoT enthusiasts to global companies. Our distributed public network infrastructure provides excellent performance regardless of the users’ location because our mission is to enable IoT everywhere in the world and allow everyone to access its disruptive potential,” explains, Julian Studer, Founder & COO/CFO; LORIOT.

“Hitting the 100 LoRaWAN network operator milestone worldwide, we are sure domestic demand for LoRaWAN services will continue rising as well. We are looking forward to the technology finding new applications and contributing to the development of solutions to problems Japanese society is facing,” said, Yuzo Jimbo, SenseWay CEO.