TTN

TTN, short for The Things Network, is a global, open, community-driven network for the Internet of Things built on the LoRaWAN protocol. It provides low-power, wide-area connectivity by coordinating a worldwide network of volunteer-operated gateways that receive sensor data from nearby devices and forward it to the TTN cloud for distribution to applications.

The architecture consists of end devices using LoRa to reach the nearest gateway. Gateways connect to TTN's core components—the Network Server, Application Server, and Join Server—through the Internet. The system handles message routing, security, and deduplication, and supports forwarding data to developers' applications via MQTT, HTTP, or other integrations. Downlink messages follow the reverse path.

The project began in the mid-2010s as a community-driven initiative to create an open, affordable IoT network. The software stack has evolved into The Things Stack (TTS), and a commercial arm, The Things Industries (TTI), offers enterprise services, while the TTN community remains active.

The TTN ecosystem supports a range of LoRaWAN devices and is used in applications such as smart agriculture, environmental monitoring, and asset tracking. It emphasizes openness, interoperability, and community governance, and relies on a distributed model of gateways owned by individuals and organizations worldwide.