Another Record Breaking Transmission for LoRaWAN

For approximately three years now the LoRaWAN distance record has held at 832km (517 miles). The record was set by launching a high-altitude balloon filled with helium, which had a LoRaWAN sensor attached. The balloon was released from the Netherlands but had drifted over Germany when a gateway located on a mountain in the Czech Republic received a data packet from the balloon. Well, this record-setting accomplishment has now been broken.

Recently, a newly recorded transmission covering a distance of 1,336km (830 miles) has shattered the previously held record. This impressive feat was reported by The Things Network. An STEVAL-STRKT01 LoRa IoT tracking device from STMicroelectronics, typically used for asset tracking, animal tracking, and fleet management, was employed running The Things Stack Community Edition. The trackers were installed on buoys off the coast of Sesimbra, Portugal as well as on a fishing boat. At the time of receiving the record breaking transmission, the fishing boat was in the area of the Canary Islands to the southwest.

The recorded distance is an impressive accomplishment given that the majority of The Things Stack operated devices only operate with typical ranges within 100 meters. Furthermore, it was also achieved at sea level whereas many previous records involved devices at some higher altitude.

Many factors contribute to the distance a wireless system can transmit. These include frequency of operation, data rate, antenna types used, receiver sensitivity, and environmental factors. LoRa devices have the advantage of low data rates, which greatly increases their range of transmission. The transmission data rate directly impacts the receiver sensitivity. For example, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices trade-off large data rates for relatively low reception ranges. In addition, the higher frequencies they operate at increase the path loss the system will suffer. LoRa technology operates in ISM bands at 868MHz, and 915MHz compared to 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz of Wi-Fi devices. Lastly, it has long been known that environmental factors can have a significant impact on range. Buildings, trees, hills, and even human bodies can all reduce range. Therefore, it is no surprise the record breaking transmissions have occurred in environments with an almost clear line of sight from the transmitter to the receiver. Still, this range record is one that will be hard to beat!