Simulation Analysis of Packet Delivery Probability in LoRa Networks.

The LoRa communication standard allows to transmit data in radio networks over distances of few kilometers. Although the LoRa WAN protocol assumes the use of ALOHA channel access, due to the use of multiple channels and multiple spreading factors in LoRa networks the evaluation of collision probability is challenging. We present the simulation model allowing to estimate the per node probability of successful packet delivery ratio. The model is evaluated for different network topologies, based on random distribution of nodes or based on the real location of meters in sample smart city deployments. The results show that the packet delivery ratio varies significantly depending on the location of the end nodes in the network. Due to the higher spreading factor used, the collision probability is very low for nodes located near to the access point. The use of proposed simulation model allows to identify the nodes which experience high collision probability and react e.g. by reconfiguration.