Expanding further into the world of the Internet of Things, CableLabs said it is creating an open-source LoRaWAN network solution that will support the long range, low-power wireless protocol aimed at in-building IoT networks.
Daryl Malas, principal architect, advanced technology group at CableLabs, noted in this blog post that LoRA is a “semi-propriety” platform owned and licensed by Semtech while a closed consortium develops the LoRaWAN spec around the Semtech solution architecture.
“CableLabs chose to develop a LoRaWAN open-source solution because we believe it is a good compromise between proprietary and open solutions, and it provides many of our members an opportunity to compete in the low power wide area (LPWA) space,” Malas wrote.
He also used the blog to outline several LPWA use cases that require remote maintenance and control of operations, such as factories and warehouses, homes, schools, public infrastructure, transportation and agriculture.
The post also includes a reference architecture and a link that details a CableLabs LoRA server, which includes components such as the app server and a gateway bridge.
“By making a portion of this network available for open-source, our goal is to lower the barrier for the cable industry and other industry participators to enable these solutions for consumers and governments,” Malas explained.
CableLabs is taking on that effort as MSOs start to rev up their IoT strategies. Of recent note, machineQ, a unit of Comcast focused on enterprise IoT services, marked the early stage of its commercial rollout by expanding to an additional U.S. markets. machineQ is using Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology based on the LoRaWAN protocol.
