LoRa Alliance Seeking New Members at Mobile World Congress

The newly formed LoRa Alliance is accepting membership applications and will formally debut during Mobile World Congress next month, it said. The group's mission is to standardize the low-power wide area networks (LPWANs) being deployed around the world to enable Internet of Things, M2M (machine-to-machine), smart-city and industrial applications, it said in a news release. The LoRaWAN protocol is said to offer bi-directionality, security, mobility for asset tracking, and accurate localization. The LoRaWAN protocol enables new business models and makes the IoT more attractive to both developers and end users, the group said, and satisfies the requirements of many applications that need to go beyond the reach of cellphone towers and Wi-Fi networks. Potential use cases include vending machines that alert distributors when a product is sold out or when the machine requires maintenance; cities that offer smart meters and apps to help drivers find open parking spaces; pet tracking/migration patterns for animal lovers; and cargo tracking for logistics providers. Semtech developed the LoRa platform.