EchoStar unveils the world's first pan-European LoRa IoT network

EchoStar Mobile, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation, has launched its pan-European LoRa-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) network, an industry-first.

LoRa, short for Long Range, is a low-power networking protocol best suited for connecting battery-powered devices. Then again, terrestrial infrastructure constraints limit the technology’s use.

The EchoStar Mobile solution gets around this limitation by integrating a LoRa-enabled module into IoT devices, allowing sensors to send and receive data in real time.

Essentially, the mobile satellite service provider's S-band network, concurrent with EchoStar XXI satellite, is the first to provide bi-directional, real-time LoRa-enabled connectivity across Europe.

The coherent pan-European coverage will meet the needs of multinational mobility customers in sectors such as utilities, transportation, rail, logistics, and agritech.

Telemaco Melia, vice president and general manager of EchoStar Mobile, said, "The activation of our pan-European network, the largest, and first multinational, LoRa-enabled IoT network, is a significant milestone for EchoStar Mobile.”

“We, along with dozens of partners participating in our early adoption program for LoRa, are evaluating prototype devices and testing the network with applications such as railway track monitoring, smart farming, utility monitoring and asset tracking in preparation for commercial service launch, which is on track for late 2022," added Melia.

Per reports, EchoStar Mobile's bi-directional LoRa-enabled IoT network ‌‌is set to debut at the LoRaWANWorld Expo in Paris on July 6.