TOKYO, Japan, March 23, 2017 – Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced that it has joined the LoRa Alliance™, an open non-profit association that supports the standardization and drives the widespread adoption of LoRaWAN™. LoRaWAN is a wireless specification that achieves low-power wide-area (LPWA) wireless networks for the Internet of Things (IoT) as an open global standard. This membership will help Renesas accelerate its microcontroller (MCU) solution deployments using LoRaWAN technology for a wide array of IoT systems.
The development of LPWA wireless networks continues to progress with the proliferation of IoT. Various standardization and promotion organizations are making vigorous efforts to create specifications and promote widespread adoption of their specifications to create a global IoT market.
The LoRa Alliance is advancing LoRaWAN standardization and its promotion, and is engaged in efforts to develop low-power wide-area wireless networks that use frequency bands that do not require licensing.
Renesas has joined the LoRa Alliance as a sponsor member, the highest level of membership, and from that leadership position will continue to contribute to both the standardization and promotion activities of LoRaWAN, which is expected to further expand in the future.
Renesas plans to develop and produce, within a year, MCUs that support LoRaWAN. Renesas’ compact MCU package will simplify the integration into the systems and reduce the mounting area on the board compared to the conventional packaging methods. Based on these technologies, Renesas intends to deliver a total wireless network solution combining wireless MCU and software.
Renesas will first expand this deployment for its low-power RL78 MCUs to contribute to the realization of IoT sensor end-devices that can be driven by batteries over the long term.
About the LoRa Alliance™
The LoRa Alliance™ is an open, non-profit association that has grown to more than 400 members since its inception in March 2015, becoming one of the largest and fastest growing alliances in the technology sector. Its members are closely collaborating and sharing their experience to promote the LoRaWAN™ protocol as the leading open global standard for secure, carrier-grade IoT LPWA connectivity.
With the technical flexibility to address multiple IoT applications, both static and mobile, and a certification program to guarantee interoperability, the LoRaWAN™ is already being deployed globally by major mobile network operators and is anticipated to widely expand in 2017.
About LoRaWAN™
The technology utilized in a LoRaWAN network is designed to connect low-cost, battery-operated sensors over long distances in harsh environments that were previously too challenging or cost prohibitive to connect. With its unique penetration capability, a LoRaWAN gateway deployed on a building or tower can connect to sensors more than 10 miles away or to water meters deployed underground or in basements. The LoRaWAN protocol offers unique and unequaled benefits in terms of bi-directionality, security, mobility and accurate localization that are not addressed by other LPWAN technologies. These benefits will enable the diverse use cases and business models that will enable deployments of large-scale LPWAN IoT networks globally.
