LoRa offers interoperability between connected things, allowing users to deploy the various objects they want to integrate into the network.
LoRa technology provides low-bandwidth, low-power and cost-effective connectivity. It is used to deploy Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) networks used for the Internet of Things. These “smart” objects are equipped with a battery and are connected wirelessly to the network. They transmit a relatively low data flow (between 0.3 and 50 kb / s) thanks to secure bi-directional communication.
The advantage of LoRa is it is an open standard allowing interoperability between connected objects without requiring complex local installation. That being the case, users can deploy various connected objects that they wish to integrate into the network.
Orange embarks on the Internet of Things
In addition to its cellular networks, LoRa is one of the technologies chosen by Orange to transport communications from objects – both for its own needs and those of its customers, the general public and companies. The Internet of Things is in fact an area of diversification for the Group, which predicts it will generate revenue of 600 million euros by 2018.
Soon 2,600 municipalities equipped
Along with more than thirty partners, Orange tested the LoRa technology in 2015 in a large-scale pilot project in Grenoble. Performed in real conditions, this pilot project tested the main uses (collection of information by the sensors, device control, regular location of things, etc.).The operator exceeded its deployment target in the first half of 2016 with 18 cities (Angers, Avignon, Bordeaux, Douai and Lens, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Orleans, Paris, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg, Toulon and Toulouse), or approximately 1,300 municipalities, already using the Orange’s network dedicated to the Internet of Things on LoRa technology.
By the end of January 2017, Orange’s LoRa network will cover 120 metropolitan areas (approximately 2,600 municipalities) offering connectivity outdoors, as well as inside buildings, to support its customers’, companies’, local authorities’ and partners’ projects. The network will in particular be used to connect sensors in smart cities.
