1. Low Total Cost Of Ownership Compared To NB-IoT

Smart metering initiatives are costly to integrate. Successful integration requires cost-effective hardware, licensing, and operational costs from the providers. LoRaWAN’s solutions are vetted in cost-benefit analysis. They have established pragmatic ways to lower the total cost of ownership, including affordable and energy-friendly devices (Up to 15-year battery life). 

2. Resilient End-To-End Security

IoT devices are the lifeline of smart utility solutions because they provide the data needed to generate actionable insight for end users and utility companies. With IoT devices being one of the greatest points of entry for cybersecurity attacks, a well-structured cybersecurity framework is required. The LoRaWAN community has ensured the integration of an effective and sophisticated security mechanism into every component that makes up the standard. The protocol boasts reliable security features, including using AES algorithms for authentication and a two-layered cryptography mechanism for encryption. The LoRa Alliance ensures that the standards’ security is ever-ever evolving, and integrates the latest novel technologies and best practices in cybersecurity.

3. Bi-Directional Communication

Bi-directional capabilities in LoRaWAN support the transmission of messages in uplinks and downlinks. The downlink functionality is crucial in innovative metering campaigns because they leave room for functionality modification without physically going to the location to re-configure the device. Other essential benefits of bi-directional communication in LoRaWAn include the support of fir mware over the air (FOTA), which facilitates minor software updates and bug fixes and package acknowledgment.

4. Reliable Battery Life Of Up To 15 Years

Battery life is crucial when deciding on which devices or communication technologies to use in your smart metering projects. LPWA technologies are generally optimized for long battery life, but the lifespans vary depending on functionality and signal quality. LoRaWAN has several mechanisms to increase battery life beyond other technologies such as NB-IoT and Sigfox. First, it requires a tremendously low power to turn on the radio module. Secondly, it extends battery life by sacrificing spectrum utilization for cost and battery life. The total cost of ownership is hence reduced massively.

5. Standards and System Interoperability

The open nature of LoRaWAN makes it capable of supporting popular metering standards, including DLMS and OMS. In water metering, for instance, LoRaWAN elevates the functionality of conventional SCADA systems, which are used in the critical networking of water utilities. Using LoRaWAN, existing SCADA infrastructure, and other applications, water utilities can develop an end-to-end solution that results in data-driven decision making, better monitoring, and favorable CapEx projections.

6. Robust, Extensive Coverage

Sparsely populated areas that want to integrate smart utility metering solutions may have connectivity issues, mainly because the best connections are in urban environments. Installing network infrastructure ground up in such areas is expensive and time-consuming and lacks a favorable cost-benefit outcome. LoRaWAN provides scalable and flexible architectures for these situations compared to satellite, NB-IoT, or cellular solutions. LoRaWAN is available in 162 countries.

7. Flexible Deployment Models

Utility smart metering solutions can either be deployed on existing public LoRaWAN networks, secure private LoRaWAN networks, or both in a hybrid architecture. LoRaWAN networks are deployed by partners referenced by the LoRa Alliance, including Netmore Group.