Iota Communications, Inc. announced the beta version of their ground-breaking FCC-licensed spectrum (800 MHz) service enabled by the LoRaWAN® Layer 2 Protocol Specification in the United States. This development complements IotaComm's existing portfolio of LoRaWAN solutions, utilizing the unlicensed ISM spectrum at 900 MHz. The launch of this service marks a significant milestone, driven by IotaComm's continuous innovation and collaboration with the LoRaWAN ecosystem.

When the LoRa Alliance®, a global association of companies backing the open LoRaWAN standard for the IoT low power wide area networks (LPWANs), announced the addition of support for Long Range-Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (LR-FHSS) data rates on November 10, 2020, a path opened for IotaComm to create a solution using LoRaWAN over FCC-Licensed spectrum. LR-FHSS, significantly increases network capacity and enhances spectrum efficiency. This, in turn, allowed IotaComm to apply the LoRaWAN standard to the commercialization of its FCC-licensed 800 MHz radio spectrum.

By leveraging the flexibility of the LoRaWAN standard and LR-FHSS, IotaComm is uniquely positioned to offer a diverse portfolio of IoT services for massive and critical IoT use cases. Massive IoT applications will continue to be supported by IotaComm's portfolio of unlicensed 900 MHz, where ubiquitous coverage and superior penetration are required. Critical IoT applications will be enabled in the FCC-licensed (800 MHz) spectrum, leveraging LR-FHSS to enable more flexible connectivity with different channel sizes and no time on air limitations.

The higher power transmit capabilities of 800 MHz solution enables further reach, ideal for connecting to sensors in difficult locations, for example, deep underground and on high floors in buildings. The key specifications and capabilities of IotaComm's new 800MHz solution are: Full Duplex Operation in IotaComm 800 MHz FCC-licensed Band; Quality of Service (QoS) and Service Level Agreement (SLA) capability for critical IoT use cases; Offering Public and Private LoRaWAN network service in both 900 MHz and 800 MHz spectrum; 800 MHz network with 145 FCC-licensed sites in the U.S. and growing; No time on-air restrictions; Higher power transmission capability; Up to 64+8 Rx Channels and up to 8 Tx Channels in the Dual Band 900 MHz/800 MHz Gateway (coming First Quarter 2024); Ideal for a range of critical IoT use cases requiring QoS and SLA capabilities within the Smart City, Utilities, Infrastructure and Healthcare verticals. The beta version of the LoRaWAN Service over FCC-licensed 800 MHz spectrum will be available in Fourth Quarter 2023.