What is LoRaWAN?

LoRaWAN is a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) protocol designed for sending small amounts of data over long distances from battery-powered devices. LoRa refers to the underlying radio modulation technique (Long Range, developed by Semtech). LoRaWAN is the network protocol and architecture that sits on top of LoRa radio – defining how devices communicate with gateways, how security is handled, and how data flows from field sensor to application.

It operates on licence-exempt sub-GHz radio spectrum. In the UK and Europe that is the 868MHz band. In North America, 915MHz. Sub-GHz signals propagate significantly further and penetrate building materials more effectively than 2.4GHz WiFi or Bluetooth, which is why a single LoRaWAN gateway can cover 2 to 5km of open terrain or provide coverage across a multi-storey building from a single roof installation.

Network Architecture

A LoRaWAN network has three layers. End devices (sensors and actuators) transmit LoRa radio packets. Gateways receive those packets – an 8-channel gateway like the Milesight UG65 can receive from hundreds of sensors simultaneously because it listens across all channels at once and each sensor transmits only briefly. The gateway forwards packets over Ethernet or cellular to a LoRaWAN Network Server (LNS), which handles device authentication, deduplication (multiple gateways may hear the same packet), and data routing to the application layer.

This architecture means the end device has no direct relationship with the internet. It transmits a radio packet. The network handles the rest. The simplicity of the end device is what enables the ultra-long battery life – there is no TCP/IP stack, no TLS handshake, no connection management on the sensor itself.

Device Classes – A, B and C

LoRaWAN defines three device operating classes that determine when the end device is able to receive downlink messages from the network.

LoRaWAN vs Cellular vs NB-IoT – Choosing the Right Technology

Spreading Factor and Range vs Data Rate

LoRa modulation uses a parameter called Spreading Factor (SF) ranging from SF7 to SF12. Higher spreading factors achieve longer range at the cost of lower data rate and longer air time. SF7 gives the highest data rate (around 5.5 kbps) and shortest range. SF12 gives the lowest data rate (around 0.3 kbps) but can reach sensors several kilometres away or deep inside buildings where lower spreading factors cannot penetrate.

Most LoRaWAN implementations use Adaptive Data Rate (ADR), where the network server adjusts the spreading factor automatically based on the link quality observed from each device. Devices close to the gateway are assigned lower spreading factors to maximise channel capacity. Devices at the edge of coverage are assigned higher spreading factors to maintain the link.

UK Network Options

There are three ways to run a LoRaWAN network in the UK. A private network using your own gateways gives complete control, no per-device subscription cost, and no dependency on a third-party network. This is the right model for site deployments where you can achieve the coverage you need from one or a small number of gateways. The Things Network is a community-operated public LoRaWAN network with reasonable UK coverage in urban areas, free to use but with fair-use data limits. Managed services from operators including Telnor and Everynet provide wide-area coverage under a per-device subscription model.

For industrial applications – utilities, energy, agriculture, manufacturing – a private network based on Milesight gateways is almost always the right answer. You own the infrastructure, you control the data, and the economics improve significantly as the device count grows.