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LoRa® (abbreviation for Long Range) is a chirp spread spectrum (CSS) modulation technique developed by Semtech®. It is a physical layer that provides robustness, high range communication and low power consumption suitable for IoT applications. An essential feature of LoRa® modulation is the decoupling of bandwidth and bit rate. By means of a spreading factor for the band spread, the ratio between bandwidth and bit rate can be adjusted.

LoRa® modulation technique is available within a lot of IMST’s radio modules for different frequency bands (433/868/915 MHz and 2.4 GHz). Due to the high sensitivity on the receiver side, large communication ranges can be achieved. LoRa® modulation can be used in a huge variety of applications.

The LoRaWAN® is an open specification for a low power wide area networking (LPWAN) protocol. It is designed to wirelessly connect battery driven devices to the Internet in regional, national or global networks. The specification defines the device-to-infrastructure of LoRa® physical layer parameters and the LoRaWAN® protocol, and provides seamless interoperability between devices.

The LoRa Alliance® is a non-profit association and drives the standardization and global harmonization of the LoRaWAN® protocol.

To estimate Wireless signal ranges is not easy at all. LoRaWAN® claims to support a long range capability and low power. 10 kilometers (LoS) and more are often mentioned. In real life the range highly depends on several factors like antenna performance, output power, spreading factor, bandwidth, surrounding environment…

However, the easiest and fastest way to get an idea about the range and data rate that can be achieved use our Starter Kits. Get a Starter Kit and do your own range/packet error tests!

Our partners have developed devices based on our LoRa® solutions for a huge range of applications like agriculture, metering, street lighting, security, environmental sensor…

Wireless M-Bus (Meter-Bus) is a communication protocol specifically designed for the remote reading of smart meters. It operates in the 868 MHz frequency band and is a European standard (EN 13757) for wireless communication between meters and data collection systems. This protocol is commonly used for utilities like water, gas, and electricity meters to transmit data efficiently and securely.

Wireless M-Bus is widely used in the following applications:

• Utility Metering: Remote reading of water, gas, and electricity meters in residential, commercial, and industrial settings.
• Heat Cost Allocation: Used in multi-occupancy buildings to allocate heating costs based on individual consumption, measured by heat meters.
• Smart Cities: Enables smart city initiatives by providing data for energy management, infrastructure monitoring, and environmental monitoring.
• Industrial Monitoring: Used in various industrial applications to monitor and manage resource consumption, including energy, water, and gas.

Wireless M-Bus offers several advantages:

• Energy Efficiency: It is designed to operate on low power, making it ideal for battery-powered devices like utility meters.
• Reliability: With dedicated frequency bands and robust error-correction mechanisms, Wireless M-Bus ensures reliable data transmission.
• Security: The protocol includes encryption and authentication features to protect sensitive data.
• Compatibility: As a standardized protocol, it is compatible with a wide range of meters and data collection systems across different manufacturers.
• Cost-Effective: Wireless M-Bus is a cost-effective solution, particularly for utility companies, as it reduces the need for manual meter reading.

While both LoRa and Wireless M-Bus are used for wireless communication, they have different characteristics and use cases:

• Range: LoRa (Long Range) typically offers a much longer range (up to 15 km in rural areas) compared to Wireless M-Bus, which is optimized for shorter distances (typically up to a few hundred meters).
• Frequency: LoRa operates in unlicensed ISM bands, such as 868 MHz in Europe and 915 MHz in the US, while Wireless M-Bus primarily uses the 868 MHz band in Europe.
• Data Rate: LoRa generally supports lower data rates, which makes it suitable for long-range, low-power applications. Wireless M-Bus supports higher data rates suitable for frequent meter reading.
• Network Structure: LoRa supports a star-of-stars network topology, ideal for large-scale IoT deployments with many devices. Wireless M-Bus typically operates in a point-to-point or star topology.
• Use Cases: LoRa is often used in IoT applications, including smart agriculture, environmental monitoring, and asset tracking, whereas Wireless M-Bus is specifically tailored for utility metering and similar applications.