LoRaWAN certification

Lora Alliance All Member Meeting & Open house took place in Rotterdam this week. The board of alliance acknowledged Espotel and IMST as the first official certification test houses.

 Press release:

The LoRa Alliance Launches the LoRaWAN™ Certification Program End Device Interoperability to Enable Global Scalability for the IoT

SAN RAMON, Calif. - November 10th, 2015 - The LoRa Alliance is one of the fastest growing Internet of Things (IoT) alliances. It has drawn over 130 members since March 2015 and today announced the launch of the LoRaWAN™ Certification Program. The launch announcement was made at the 3rd European Open House Meeting in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and will ensure interoperability between end devices and LoRaWAN™ networks.

The LoRa® Alliance has a mission to ensure that the open LoRaWAN™ specification for secure, carrier grade, low power wide area networks (LPWAN) will enable all end devices to behave in a predetermined way when connected to a LoRaWAN™ network and interoperate with all gateway products. The Certification Program will provide assurance to end customers that their application-specific end devices will operate on any LoRaWAN™ network, which is a crucial requirement for the global deployment of the IoT using LPWANs.

The scope of the Certification Program will be to confirm that the end device meets the functional requirements of the LoRaWAN™ protocol specification, and will include a suite of tests that are specified in the LoRa® Alliance End Device Certification Requirements document. A device manufacturer must be a member the LoRa® Alliance to be LoRa® Certified and must use one of the accredited LoRa® Certification test houses to do the functional protocol testing. On completion of the tests the results will be listed on the LoRa® Alliance website, and upon compliance a LoRa® Certification certificate will be issued by the LoRa® Alliance. All LoRaWAN™ Certified devices will be listed on the Alliance website and there will not be a fee for the listing. The LoRa® Certified end devices are listed in a product catalogue and a portal on the website to enable visibility will be available by year end.

"This is a major milestone for the LoRa® Alliance in the adoption of LoRa® technology as a mature standard and will enable end device manufactures to have fully compliant LoRaWAN™ Certified products. The certified device will also ensure quick and easy integration into any LoRaWAN™ network," said Derek Hunt, System Solutions Director at Semtech and Certification Committee Chair for the LoRa® Alliance.

Two LoRa® Alliance members, IMST and Espotel, both respected test houses, have already implemented test suites to perform the testing and are accredited by the LoRa® Alliance. Both companies also offer RF or regulatory compliance testing and additional services for the end devices if required. "LoRa® is one of the most promising radio technologies for IoT solutions and we see plenty of great opportunities for this technology in Industry, utilities and logistics. Espotel provides engineering services, laboratory services and entire IoT systems, including cloud services, for customers willing to create LoRa® based services and solutions," said Espotel CEO Kari Liuska. "The LoRa® technology provides ultra-long range spread spectrum communication and high interference immunity whilst minimizing current consumption. Nevertheless, the individual device needs to be tested to ensure compliance to the LoRaWAN™ specification, enabling a smooth integration into bigger networks. IMST is working with LoRa® for more than three years and provides first-class LoRa® solutions for customers all over the world," said IMST Head of Test Centre Markus Ridder.

About LoRa Alliance
LoRa® Alliance is an open, non-profit association of members who believe the Internet of Things era is now. Our mission is to standardize Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) to enable the Internet of Things (IoT). The Alliance members collaborate to drive the global success of the LoRaWAN ™ secure, carrier grade protocol by sharing knowledge and experience to guarantee interoperability between operators in one open global standard. Now having gained over 130 members since March 2015, with nine announced operator networks and 56 operator networks in trials, it is the most widely deployed LPWAN technology.

About LoRaWAN™
The technology utilized in a LoRaWAN™ network is designed to connect low-cost, battery-operated sensors over long distances in harsh environments that were previously too challenging or cost prohibitive to connect. With its unique penetration capability, a LoRa® gateway deployed on a building or tower can connect to sensors more than 10 miles away or to water meters deployed underground or in basements. The LoRaWAN™ protocol offers unique and unequaled benefits in terms of bi-directionality, security, mobility and accurate localization that are not addressed by other LPWAN technologies. These benefits will enable the diverse use cases and business models that will enable deployments of LPWAN IoT networks globally.

About Espotel
Espotel is a leading provider of R&D services for embedded systems, industrial internet applications and test systems for industrial, telecom, medical and defense technology sectors. Positioned at the edge of new technology with such leading technology partners as IBM, ARM and National Instruments, and with strong roots in the development of electronic devices and systems, Espotel has created a wide international customer base. Espotel has offices in Finland, Poland and Sweden. Today Espotel employs about 300 professionals in the field of electronics, embedded systems and industrial internet development. With a turnover of 25 million euros in 2014, the company is showing continuous growth and profitability, enabling the development of technological expertise and excellence at customer service. www.espotel.com

About IMST
IMST GmbH is a leading design house and development center for wireless modules, communication systems, chip design, antennas, EDA software, and regulatory certification using an in-house accredited/certified regulatory test center. IMST offers both standard products such as radio modules with hardware/software as well as complete system and product design. Individualized support during every phase of product development including wireless technologies, from initial consulting to series production is one of the unique selling propositions of IMST. For more information, visit http://www.imst.com