Time-Power Multiplexing for LoRa-Based IoT Networks: An Effective Way to Boost LoRaWAN Network Capacity

Abstract

Low-power wide-area networks are continuously gaining momentum as enablers of massive machine-type communication, thanks to long-range wireless technologies operating either on unlicensed spectrum like, e.g., Long-Range (LoRa) and Sigfox, or on licensed spectrum, as Narrowband-IoT. For the former category of technologies, stringent requirements in terms of channel utilization and radiated power must be fulfilled, thus algorithms and protocols for enhanced radio-resource management need to be investigated. In this paper, we propose a disruptive approach for LoRa systems, exploiting a novel operational mode at the gateways side called time-power multiplexing, which fully exploits the degrees of freedom of the unlicensed bands regulations. The simulation results show that the proposed solution boosts the number of users that a LoRa network can support with respect to the default operational mode.