LoRa/LoRaWAN tutorial 3: Rules and Regulations

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This is part 3 of the LoRa/LoRaWAN tutorial.

In this video series different topics will be explained which will help you to understand LoRa/LoRaWAN.
It is recommended to watch each video sequentially as I may refer to certain LoRa/LoRaWAN topics explained earlier.

In this video I will explain who sets the wireless communication rules and regulations.

LoRa operates in the unlicensed ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) radio band that are available worldwide.

A more detailed list of LoRa frequencies used per country can be found at:
https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/docs...
https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/docs...

In the United States, LoRaWAN operates in the 902-928 MHz frequency band.
United States frequency allocation:
https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/p...

Devices such as microwave ovens, medical equipments or baby monitors all uses the ISM band.
ISM band advantages:
- Anyone is allowed to use these frequencies.
- No license fee is required.
ISM band disadvantages:
- Low data rate.
- Lots of interference because anyone can use these frequencies.

Because the ISM band can be used by everyone, there must be some rules set otherwise this band will become unusable.
Think of the many signal interferences.
There are several international organisations which manage the radio spectrum to ensure safe co-existence between all the different radio technologies.
In Europe the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) creates standards which are used by local (= country) regulatory authorities.
https://www.etsi.org/
In the US the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) creates these standards.
https://www.fcc.gov/

All other countries are using the standard sets by either ETSI or FCC.
Except Japan they have the Telecom Engineering Center (TELEC) and South Korea they have the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).
For example in the Netherlands, its telecommunication regulatory authority is called the Telecom Agency (In Dutch: Agentschap Telecom) which is part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (In Dutch: Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat).
This regulatory authority has issued the conditions and requirements when using LoRa in the Netherlands and is based on the standards set by ETSI.
https://www.agentschaptelecom.nl/onde...
http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0036378...

For example in Europe when using the ISM band frequencies (863 MHz - 870 MHz) users must comply to the following rules:
- For uplink, the maximum transmission power is limited to 25mW (14 dBm).
- For downlink (for 869.525MHz), the maximum transmission power is limited to 0.5W (27 dBm)
There is an 0.1% and 1.0% duty cycle per day depending on the channel.
Maximum allowed antenna gain +2.15 dBi.
Besides these ISM band rules, the network operator (for example The Things Network) can also add additional restrictions.

If you use The Things Network (free public community LoRaWAN network), the following fair use policy applies:
The uplink airtime is limited to 30 seconds per day (24 hours) per node.
The downlink messages are limited to 10 messages per day (24 hours) per node.
More information about the TTN fair use policy:
https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/docs...

When a signal is send from a sender it takes a certain amount of time before a receiver receives this signal.
This time is called Time on Air (ToA).

Duty cycle is the proportion of time during which a component, device, or system is operated.
The duty cycle can be expressed as a ratio or as a percentage. 
As mentioned previously in Europe there is a 0.1% and 1.0% duty cycle per day depending on the channel.

Check out all my other LoRa/LoRaWAN tutorial videos:
   • LoRa/LoRaWAN tutorials  

Subscribe to my YouTube channel:
   / @mobilefish  

The presentation used in this video tutorial can be found at:
https://www.mobilefish.com/developer/...

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