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.

LoRaWAN or NB-IoT for our IoT deployment?

Depends on coverage, control, and economics. Public LoRaWAN where Actility-powered carriers exist; private LoRaWAN for sensitive or high-density sites; NB-IoT for global mobility and carrier-managed simplicity. We model both at stage 1.

Can we deploy LoRaWAN privately, without a carrier?

Yes — private LoRaWAN is common for large sites (factories, ports, campuses) and for sensitive applications (defence, critical infrastructure). Network-server choice and gateway placement are the key decisions.

How long do LoRaWAN sensors actually last?

5–15 years on small lithium batteries, depending on transmission frequency and payload size. Sensors transmitting every hour can last a decade; trackers transmitting every minute closer to 2–3 years.

Is LoRaWAN secure enough for enterprise use?

Yes — LoRaWAN uses AES-128 encryption end-to-end. Enterprise deployments add the usual TLS, network-server access controls, and integration security. Real security questions are usually around device provisioning and key management, not the protocol itself.

How does LoRaWAN integrate with our enterprise systems?

Through the network server (ThingPark, The Things Stack, ChirpStack) into your platforms via standard MQTT, HTTP webhooks, or direct cloud integrations (AWS IoT, Azure IoT). See /integrations for our enterprise integration patterns.

INZICHT · POSITIONERINGSTECHNOLOGIE

LoRaWAN — hoe het werkt en waar het past.

LoRaWAN is the long-range, low-power, low-cost wireless protocol that has quietly become the default for outdoor asset tracking, agriculture sensing, smart-city IoT and remote-equipment monitoring.

This is the operator-level explainer of how LoRaWAN actually works, where it wins decisively, and where cellular alternatives fit better.

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De 30-secondendefinitie

LoRaWAN is a long-range, low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) protocol that runs in unlicensed sub-GHz bands (typically 868 MHz in Europe, 915 MHz in the US).

It's built on two technologies: LoRa, the proprietary chirp-spread-spectrum modulation invented by Semtech, which gives long range (10+ km rural, 2–5 km urban) and deep penetration;

en LoRaWAN, the open MAC-layer protocol governed by the LoRa Alliance, which provides the network architecture, addressing, security and roaming.

The defining property: tiny battery-powered sensors send small packets to gateways many kilometres away, with battery life measured in years to a decade.

Hoe LoRaWAN eigenlijk werkt

Three layers. End devices (sensors, trackers) transmit small payloads (typically 10–50 bytes) on sub-GHz bands.

Gateways receive the transmissions and forward them via Internet to a network server. Coverage depends on gateway placement; one gateway covers many square kilometres rural, several hundred metres in dense urban.

Network server (Actility ThingPark, The Things Stack, ChirpStack and others) handles deduplication, routing and security; passes payloads to the customer's application via webhook / MQTT.

The architecture supports Class A (asynchronous uplink, battery-friendly), Class B (scheduled downlinks) and Class C (always-on receive). Geolocation is possible without GPS via gateway TDoA triangulation, accurate to 100–500 m typically.

Waar LoRaWAN het juiste antwoord is

Five categories are mature. Outdoor asset tracking: shipping containers, returnable assets, livestock, vehicles — anywhere battery-powered sensors need years of life across long distances.

Agriculture and farm sensing: soil moisture, livestock health, equipment location across hectare-scale fields.

Smart-city infrastructure: parking, waste, lighting, environmental monitoring — long-range coverage with cheap municipal-scale rollout.

Remote equipment monitoring: utility, oil-and-gas, energy network sensors in remote field locations. Industrial telemetry: factory sensors not requiring real-time response — tank levels, ambient conditions, run-hours.

LoRaWAN versus de alternatieven

LoRaWAN vs NB-IoT: NB-IoT is carrier-managed cellular LPWAN. NB-IoT wins on global coverage (carrier roaming) and standardised interoperability.

LoRaWAN wins on cost (no SIM, no carrier fees), unlicensed band, and private-network capability. Many enterprises evaluate both at stage 1.

LoRaWAN vs LTE-M: LTE-M has higher bandwidth and works for voice/video; LoRaWAN is purpose-built for tiny battery-friendly payloads.

LoRaWAN vs Sigfox: Sigfox is proprietary and has had business-model challenges; LoRaWAN's open ecosystem is more robust. LoRaWAN vs short-range (BLE / RFID): completely different categories — LoRaWAN for outdoor and remote, BLE/RFID for indoor and dense.

Eerlijke beperkingen

Five considerations are real. Bandwidth: small payloads only (typically 11–50 bytes per packet); not suitable for streaming or large data.

Latency: Class A devices have unpredictable response time; not suitable for real-time control. Duty cycle: regulatory limits on transmission time (typically 1% per device in EU) constrain how often a device can transmit.

Geolocation accuracy: 100–500 m typically — useful for asset finding, not for precise tracking. Public network coverage: variable by region; Actility-powered carriers cover much of Europe well, less coverage in many other regions, where private networks fill in.

Leveranciers- en ecosysteemlandschap

Silicon: Semtech is effectively the only LoRa silicon supplier (LR1110 / LR2021 for newer chips with integrated GNSS / Wi-Fi sniffing for hybrid positioning).

Network server platforms: Actility ThingPark (enterprise / carrier scale), The Things Industries (developer-friendly), ChirpStack (open source), plus AWS IoT Core and Azure IoT Central for LoRaWAN integration.

Gateways: Kerlink, Multitech, Tektelic, Cisco, MikroTik — many vendors. Devices: thousands of manufacturers building LoRaWAN-conformant sensors and trackers. Standaarden: LoRa Alliance governs LoRaWAN protocol and certification.

Waar TRACIO LoRaWAN aanbeveelt

Use cases requiring battery-powered tracking or sensing over long distances with low data rates: outdoor asset and returnable-container tracking;

livestock and agricultural monitoring; remote utility / oil-and-gas equipment sensors; smart-city infrastructure; supplementary outdoor coverage in mixed-RTLS deployments.

We don't recommend LoRaWAN for indoor precision positioning (UWB or BLE-AoA fit), for use cases requiring real-time response (cellular IoT), or for streaming-data applications (high-bandwidth alternatives).

FAQ

Veelgestelde vragen

LoRaWAN of NB- IoT voor onze IoT-implementatie?

Het hangt af van dekking, controle en economie. Openbare LoRaWAN waar Actility-aangedreven carriers bestaan; privé LoRaWAN voor gevoelige of hoogdichte sites; NB- IoT voor wereldwijde mobiliteit en eenvoud door carriers beheerd. We modelleren beide in fase 1.

Kunnen we LoRaWAN privé inzetten, zonder carrier?

Ja — particuliere LoRaWAN is gebruikelijk voor grote locaties (fabrieken, havens, campussen) en voor gevoelige toepassingen (defensie, kritieke infrastructuur). De keuze van netwerkserver en de plaatsing van de gateway zijn de belangrijkste beslissingen.

Hoe nauwkeurig is de geolocatie van LoRaWAN?

100–500 m typically via TDoA across multiple gateways. New chips (Semtech LR1110, LR2021) integrate optional GNSS or Wi-Fi sniffing for hybrid positioning, lifting accuracy meaningfully where the device is in GNSS coverage.

Hoe lang gaan LoRaWAN-sensoren eigenlijk mee?

5–15 jaar op kleine lithiumbatterijen, afhankelijk van transmissiefrequentie en ladinggrootte. Sensoren die elk uur uitzenden kunnen tien jaar meegaan; trackers die elke minuut bijna 2–3 jaar uitzenden.

Is LoRaWAN veilig genoeg voor bedrijfsgebruik?

Ja — LoRaWAN gebruikt AES-128 encryptie end-to-end. Enterprise-implementaties voegen de gebruikelijke TLS, netwerkservertoegangscontroles en integratiebeveiliging toe. Echte beveiligingsvragen gaan meestal over apparaatprovisioning en sleutelbeheer, niet over het protocol zelf.

Hoe integreert LoRaWAN met onze bedrijfssystemen?

Via de netwerkserver (ThingPark, The Things Stack, ChirpStack) via standaard MQTT, HTTP-webhooks of directe cloudintegraties (AWS IoT, Azure IoT) via je platforms. Zie /integrations voor onze enterprise integratiepatronen.

Laatst bijgewerkt: 26 mei 2026