Lat-Lon: Forget cell phone service charges
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefLat-Lon has eliminated the monthly cellular service charge on the newest version of its Solar Tracking Unit by replacing the standard cellular modem with a LoRa (Long Range Radio) data modem.
Lat-Lon’s LoRa Solar Tracking Unit (LoRa-STU) “has all the capabilities of its cellular-based product including, but not limited to, impact detection and temperature monitoring,” the company said. “Fleet owners can significantly lower operating costs, and the same robust Lat-Lon website is used to review data, graphs and photos.”
The LoRa can offload data collected during a trip to a gateway for no charge. “LoRa is a proprietary radio modulation technology,” explained Lat-Lon. “It is a low-power, low-cost, long-range wireless technology specifically designed for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Data is communicated to a Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN), a network of gateways connected to the Internet. LPWAN requires less power than WAN (Wide Area Network) and has a low bit rate, ideal for small-packet transmission. It can be used to create a private network rather than leasing an existing network via modems with monthly/annual operating costs. Communication is secure and bi-directional using frequency hopping and variable data rates. LoRa is considered a compliment to M2M technology best used for low power operations.
“LoRa vastly expands the market for GPS tracking and data collection by removing the recurring costs normally associated with such services,” said Lat-Lon President David Baker. “Now, GPS tracking is a one-time capital acquisition instead of an operating expense.”
Lat-Lon has joined the LoRa alliance “to help promote understanding and consistency for success in IoT and M2M applications, the company said. “While not stepping away from traditionally real-time cellular tracking technology, Lat-Lon is pursuing additional options for lower operating cost for real-time yard operations and non-real-time data logging when out of Gateway range.
Learn more at: https://www.lora-alliance.org/
