LoRa Alliance® Unveils IPv6 Over LoRaWAN® for Expanded IoT Markets

The LoRa Alliance® has introduced IPv6 over LoRaWAN®, significantly expanding the scope of LoRaWAN applications. This advancement enables seamless integration with Internet-based standards, unlocking new opportunities in markets such as smart meters, smart buildings, logistics, and homes.

Accelerating IoT Applications

By incorporating IPv6, the LoRaWAN platform can now support a broader range of device-to-application solutions. This expansion allows for the integration of IP-based solutions commonly used in enterprise and industrial environments. Developers can leverage cloud infrastructure more efficiently, enabling faster implementation of Internet-based applications and reducing time-to-market and overall ownership costs.

Benefits of IPv6 over LoRaWAN

Donna Moore, CEO and President of the LoRa Alliance, emphasized the importance of this development: "As digitization continues across market segments, integrating multiple technologies for an end-to-end solution is critical. At the same time, businesses need a more interoperable and standards-compliant solution. Now LoRaWAN can seamlessly integrate with any IP application, offering the best of both worlds. IPv6 is a core technology for the Internet of Things, and enabling IPv6 through LoRaWAN opens up new markets and an expanded application space. Developers and end-users with IPv6 devices recognize the benefits of digital transformation and IoT, creating solutions that improve lives, the environment, and drive new revenue streams."

Acknowledgements and Collaborations

The successful implementation of IPv6 Over LoRaWAN is the result of active cooperation among LoRa Alliance members and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The collaboration involved specifying Static Context Header Compression (SCHC) and fragmentation techniques to achieve efficient IP packet transmission over LoRaWAN. The LoRaWAN Alliance IPv6 Task Force integrated the SCHC specification (RFC 90111) into the LoRaWAN standard, making it natively compatible with Internet technologies.

Industry Applications

The first application of SCHC for IPv6 over LoRaWAN is DLMS/COSEM for smart metering. It addresses utility requirements for IP-based standards and is the result of collaboration between the LoRa Alliance and the DLMS User Association. Numerous other applications exist for IPv6 over LoRaWAN, including monitoring Internet network devices, reading RFID tags, and IP-based smart home applications. This milestone marks LoRaWAN's position at the forefront of IoT, offering diverse and versatile solutions to meet the ever-growing demands of the industry.