Hybrid Coded Replication in LoRa Networks

Low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) are wireless connectivity solutions for Internet-of-Things applications, including industrial automation. Among the several LPWAN technologies, LoRaWAN has been extensively addressed by the research community and the industry. However, the reliability and scalability of LoRaWAN are still uncertain. One of the techniques to increase the reliability of LoRaWAN is message replication, which exploits time diversity. This article proposes a novel hybrid coded message replication scheme that interleaves simple repetition and a recently proposed coded replication method. We analyze the optimization of the proposed scheme under minimum reliability requirements and show that it enhances the network performance without requiring additional transmit power compared to the competing replication techniques.