LoRa

Lora commonly refers to LoRa, a low-power wide-area network technology designed for wireless communication in the Internet of Things (IoT). LoRa uses chirp spread spectrum modulation to achieve long-range transmission with very low power consumption. It is often deployed with the LoRaWAN protocol, which standardizes the communication between end devices, gateways, network servers, and applications.

LoRa operates in unlicensed sub-GHz radio bands, such as 863–870 MHz in Europe and 902–928 MHz in the United States, with regional variations elsewhere. The typical topology is a star-of-stars: numerous end devices connect to one or more gateways, which forward data to network servers for processing and delivery to application servers. Data rates are low, ranging roughly from 0.3 kbps to 50 kbps, depending on factors like spreading factor and channel conditions. This design supports long-range links and reduced energy consumption, enabling devices to run on small batteries for years.

Security in LoRaWAN includes AES-128 encryption at the network and application layers, with join procedures (OTAA or ABP) to establish session keys. Deployments are common in smart metering, asset tracking, agriculture, and smart city projects, where wide coverage and low maintenance are advantageous, though the technology trades off higher data throughput for power efficiency and range.

Name usage: Lora is also a feminine given name, often a variant of Laura, used in various languages and regions.

In summary, LoRa/Lora denotes a family of long-range, low-power wireless technologies and their network architecture, emphasizing scalable, low-cost IoT connectivity.