Academy for LoRaWAN®

There are so many factors that affect the outdoor coverage of a LoRaWAN network, we cannot address all of them here. However, let’s take a look at some of the most important.

• When mounting a gateway outside, it is generally better to mount the antenna as high as possible. Also, if possible, position the antenna so that it is in line-of-sight of the intended area of coverage.
• If a gateway antenna is mounted near—or on—the same mast as other mobile phone antennas, there will be some collocation interference and degradation of the signals. For more details of these see the LoRa Alliance white paper LoRaWAN® Gateways: Radio Coexistence Issues and Solutions.
• You can use radio planning tools to improve the coverage of your network.  Typically, these are not designed specifically for LoRaWAN networks; however, the parameters can usually be adjusted to work for LoRaWAN coverage. The better tools usually make use of a three-dimensional map of all the buildings in the vicinity of the gateway. Some of the 3D maps include not only the height of buildings, but they can also be adjusted to take the penetration of signals through nearby buildings into account. There are some tools on the market that have LoRa modules available, such as Forsk Atoll, Infovista Planet, or iBwave. Additionally, more planning tools are starting to include LoRa.

Another factor to take into account is the existence of trees or other large bushes in the area, especially if they are between the end device and the gateway. Such trees and bushes may also cause seasonal issues when the foliage is denser.

Finally, outdoor gateways are typically more expensive than indoor gateways.  Not only are outdoor gateways fully waterproofed, they are also designed with expensive cavity filters. These cavity filters help reduce collocation interference.