LoRaWAN recognized as ITU International Standard for Low Power Wide Area Networking

LoRaWAN from the LoRa Alliance, a global association of companies announced Dec. 7, 2021, that LoRaWAN was officially approved as a standard by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs). The open LoRaWAN standard targets applications for the Internet of Things (IoT) low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs).

The standard is titled Recommendation ITU-T Y.4480 “Low power protocol for wide area wireless networks” and is under the responsibility of Study Group 20 of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), ITU’s standardization expert group for “Internet of Things and smart cities and communities.”

Open-standard plan for wireless from the start

“LoRaWAN was developed as an open standard from the very beginning, which was recognized by the LPWAN community and demonstrated by its rapid global adoption as the LPWAN for IoT,” said Donna Moore, CEO and chairwoman of the LoRa Alliance. “We undertook this endeavor with ITU-T to have LoRaWAN formally documented as an international standard by an independent authority because of our commitment to openness and standardization, which are critical to achieving the interoperability needed for massive scaling. The transposition as an ITU-T Recommendation validates the market’s decision to adopt LoRaWAN as an internationally recognized standard and sets the stage for even more growth.”

Bilel Jamoussi, chief of study groups for the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, praised ITU members and the LoRa Alliance for their efforts. “Collaboration among standardization communities continues to grow in importance alongside the accelerating digital transformation underway across our economies,” Jamoussi said. “We see strong commitment to building synergies among standardization efforts in ITU’s work for the Internet of Things and smart cities and communities, and the approval of this new international standard demonstrates that this is a commitment that ITU shares with the LoRa Alliance.”

The LoRa Alliance has been engaged with ITU throughout much of 2021 to complete the qualification process. The Study Groups of ITU-T assemble experts from around the world to develop international standards, known as ITU-T Recommendations, which act as defining elements in the global infrastructure of ICTs.

About LoRa Alliance

The LoRa Alliance is an open, nonprofit association that has become one of the largest and fastest-growing alliances in the technology sector since its start in 2015. Its members closely collaborate and share expertise to develop and promote the global LoRaWAN standard for secure, carrier-grade IoT LPWAN connectivity. LoRaWAN has the technical flexibility to address a broad range of IoT applications, both fixed and mobile, and a robust LoRaWAN Certification program to guarantee that devices perform as specified. The LoRaWAN standard has been deployed by more than 155 major mobile network operators globally, and connectivity is available in more than 170 countries.

– Edited by Mark T. Hoske, content manager, Control Engineering, CFE Media and Technology, mhoske@cfemedia.com.

KEYWORDS: IoT networks, LoRaWAN by LoRa Alliance

CONSIDER THIS

What industrial wireless technologies will enable greater capabilities for you?

Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our CFE Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.