In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review leading up to the 18th edition of the Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit, Alper Yegin, Chief Executive Officer, LoRa Alliance, discussed how the organization’s initiatives are encouraging the global adoption of LoRaWAN technology, LoRa Alliance’s approach to balancing sustainability with IoT solutions, and the significance of strategic collaborations in the technology industry.
What initiatives are currently underway to achieve global adoption of LoRaWAN technology?
This year, we implemented several initiatives. On the technical front, we added new features to extend the coverage of LoRaWAN by lowering the cost of deployment.
Another key initiative involves the progress we’ve made in the acceleration of satellite networks. We already have satellite network operator members within LoRa Alliance providing commercial services. Now, we are adding more technical features to achieve full end-to-end interoperability for satellite connectivity.
We are also working on ways to reduce the cost of building networks at the LoRaWAN base stations. We are doing so by accelerating LoRaWAN relays, adding walk by/drive by readings, and adding single-channel gateways to our portfolio.
We are also increasing our engagement with external organizations, including government agencies, regulators, standardization bodies, and industry forums. More specifically, we aim to increase our engagement with legacy Internet of Things (IoT) application domains to help them adapt to lower-end connectivity.
Additionally, we will be investing more in IoT- and LoRaWAN-based education, which we believe is pivotal in bridging the gaps between technology, the ecosystem, and adoption.
How does LoRa Alliance balance sustainability with developing innovative IoT solutions?
We are building the LoRaWAN technology not only for the benefit of businesses but also for the planet and people. Numerous environmental sensing use cases are being catered to, including the consumption of water and the production of electricity and other types of energy. Starting with environmental sensing, we are providing applications to preserve energy consumption. On top of that, the technology is designed to consume as little power as possible. We are also moving towards energy harvesting through which we will eliminate battery depletion. Instead, we will be able to use sensors that can operate without having to be replaced or thrown away.
How important are strategic collaborations to establish advancements in the technology sector?
Collaboration is essential. The IoT cannot be handled by a single company or organization; this is why we have been building numerous collaborations. We have a well-established relationship with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which helps us standardize developments and promote IoT technologies. Another international organization we closely engage with is the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Jointly, we have been building protocols and architectures to accelerate the adoption of LoRaWAN for other use cases. These are just two examples of the many organizations with which we have built liaisons. We will be adding more in the coming years.
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