Indoor deployment of low-power wide area networks (LPWAN): A LoRaWAN case study

The last decade saw the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm, which aims to connect any object to the Internet. In this context, a new type of wireless communication network emerged known as Low-Power Wire-Area Network (LPWAN). By contrast to well-known short range and multi-hop wireless networks, LPWAN networks allow long range communications at a low bit rate. Furthermore, LPWAN networks are considered to be integrated into 5G. Among LPWAN networks, the LoRaWAN technology gains more and more interest from the research and industrial communities. In this article, we have led a thorough experimental performance evaluation of LoRaWAN in an indoor environment. From this study, we quantify the limits of this technology and expose the merits of using LoRaWAN for IoT communications in the context of 5G.