Which technologies do you consult on?

All of the major location, identification and IoT technologies: RTLS (UWB, BLE, Wi-Fi), RFID (passive, active and RAIN UHF), industrial IoT and sensors, GPS and GNSS, AGV and AMR robot fleets, and hybrid stacks that combine them. We recommend the right mix for each zone and use case, not a single technology.

Are you really vendor-neutral?

Yes. We do not sell hardware or a software platform of our own, and we take no resale commissions, so our technology and vendor recommendations serve your outcome rather than a product we need to move.

Do you work outside the UK?

We are UK-based and work across Europe and internationally, delivering in English, German and French. Engagements can be remote or on-site depending on the work.

What does a consulting engagement include?

Typically discovery and requirements, vendor-neutral technology selection, vendor evaluation and RFP support, ROI and business case, solution architecture, and an implementation roadmap. We scope each engagement to where you are.

Can you help after the decision is made?

Yes. We work across the full lifecycle - we can also deploy, integrate, and operate the system, so you can keep one independent team from business case through to live operation.

How do we get started?

Usually with a short call or a fixed-fee discovery to scope the problem, followed by a proposal with clear deliverables, timeline and fees. There is no obligation and no platform pitch.

Which is cheaper — public or private LoRaWAN?

Depends on device count and site geography. Public wins at low device counts in carrier coverage. Private wins above ~500–2,000 devices per site, or for deployments outside carrier coverage. We model both in stage 1.

Can a device roam between public and private networks?

Yes, in principle — the LoRa Alliance has standardised roaming. In practice, public-private roaming is not yet plug-and-play and requires careful key management. Most hybrid deployments segment devices by network rather than roaming them dynamically.

How reliable is Helium for enterprise use?

Helium's peer-operated model has uneven coverage and quality. It's improved since the Solana migration but isn't yet a stable enterprise-grade carrier in most regions. We treat it as a supplementary network, not primary.

Do private LoRaWAN networks require ongoing maintenance?

Yes — gateway firmware updates, network server patching, key management, monitoring. Typically a few engineer-days per year for a stable deployment. Managed-services arrangements with TTI or Actility handle this for enterprises that don't want in-house ownership.

VERGELIJKING · IOT-NETWERKKEUZE

Publiek versus private LoRaWAN — wat past.

LoRaWAN deployments split into public networks (carrier-run, subscription-based, where coverage exists) and private networks (you run your own gateways and network server, full control).

The right choice is highly use-case-dependent, and most mature enterprises end up with a mix. This is the operator-level comparison that helps procurement decide.

Boek een scoping-gesprek van 30 minuten

Het verschil in architectuur

Public LoRaWAN: you connect devices to a carrier's network (Orange / Bouygues / Objenious in France, KPN in Netherlands, Swisscom in Switzerland, Senet and Everynet in North America, Helium globally on a peer-operated model).

You pay per-device subscription; the carrier operates gateways and network server.

Private LoRaWAN: you operate your own gateways and network server (ChirpStack open source, The Things Industries, Actility ThingPark Enterprise) on your site. Devices connect only to your network. Capex up-front, no subscription, full control.

Dekking — de doorslaggevende factor

Public LoRaWAN coverage is excellent across most of Europe (carrier-run networks cover major countries comprehensively), patchy in North America (Senet, Everynet, Helium fill in but coverage is uneven), and limited in much of Asia, Latin America and Africa.

For deployments concentrated within carrier coverage, public is the fastest path to scale. For deployments spread across patchy or uncovered regions, private (or hybrid) is the only practical option.

Kosten-economie — welke wint?

Public: per-device subscription, typically 1–5 Euros per device per year for low-payload sensors, more for trackers. No upfront infrastructure capex.

Private: gateway capex (1,000–3,000 Euros each, you need 1–5 per site depending on size), network-server capex or licence (ChirpStack free, TTI / Actility commercial), operations overhead.

Breakeven happens around 500–2,000 devices per site, depending on density and gateway choice. Above that, private is usually cheaper TCO.

Beveiliging en controle

Both use AES-128 encryption end-to-end. The security difference is operational. Public: traffic transits the carrier's network server; key management is shared. Private: you control the entire path, including device provisioning, network keys and routing.

For defence, critical infrastructure, regulated industries (pharma, financial-services field equipment, oil & gas) and sensitive corporate use cases, private is usually required for governance reasons even when public coverage exists.

Leveranciers- en platformlandschap

Public carriers: Orange Business / Objenious, Bouygues Telecom, KPN, Swisscom, Telekom Austria, Senet, Everynet, Helium (peer-operated).

Private network servers: ChirpStack (open source, dominant for self-managed), The Things Stack (TTI commercial + community), Actility ThingPark Enterprise (carrier-grade for large private deployments), AWS IoT Core (with LoRaWAN integration), Azure IoT Central.

Gateways: Kerlink, Multitech, Tektelic, Cisco, MikroTik — most work with both public and private. Devices: thousands of LoRaWAN-conformant sensors and trackers.

Hybride wordt steeds gebruikelijker

Many enterprises run both. Public LoRaWAN for assets that move across regions (returnable containers, livestock, mobile equipment) where carrier coverage exists. Private LoRaWAN for sensitive in-site applications (factory sensors, hospital staff, military / defence equipment).

Hybrid stacks use roaming standards to hand devices between networks. We design the network architecture in stage 1 — see /insights/lorawan-explained for the deeper technology treatment.

FAQ

Veelgestelde vragen

Welke is goedkoper — publieke of private LoRaWAN?

Het hangt af van het aantal apparaten en de geografie van de locatie. Publiek wint bij lage apparaataantallen in de dekking van de provider. Privé wint meer dan ~500–2.000 apparaten per locatie, of voor inzet buiten de dekking van de provider. We modelleren beide in fase 1.

Kan een apparaat roamen tussen publieke en private netwerken?

Ja, in principe — de LoRa Alliance heeft roaming gestandaardiseerd. In de praktijk is publiek-private roaming nog geen plug-and-play en vereist het zorgvuldig sleutelbeheer.

De meeste hybride implementaties segmenteren apparaten per netwerk in plaats van ze dynamisch te laten rondlopen.

Hoe betrouwbaar is Helium voor bedrijfsgebruik?

Het peer-operated model van Helium heeft een ongelijke dekking en kwaliteit. Het is verbeterd sinds de Solana-migratie, maar is in de meeste regio's nog geen stabiele enterprise-grade carrier. We behandelen het als een aanvullend netwerk, niet als primair.

Vereisen private LoRaWAN-netwerken doorlopend onderhoud?

Ja — gateway-firmware-updates, netwerkserverpatching, sleutelbeheer, monitoring. Meestal een paar ingenieursdagen per jaar voor een stabiele inzet. Managed-services overeenkomsten met TTI of Actility regelen dit voor bedrijven die geen eigen eigendom willen.

Waar passen cellulaire IoT (LTE-M / NB-IoT) in deze vergelijking?

Cellular IoT is the other LPWAN option. NB-IoT and LTE-M are carrier-managed, globally available where cellular exists, and integrate naturally with mobile devices.

LoRaWAN wins on cost-per-device at scale and on private-network capability; cellular wins on global mobility and standardised interoperability. Most enterprises run both for different use cases.

Laatst bijgewerkt: 26 mei 2026