Compatibility Checking to Adopt MANET in LoRaWAN for Long-Range Connectivity

In the advancing technological era, continuous connectivity is a crucial concern not just for short-range IoT devices, but also for long-range applications such as maintaining connections with fishermen in coastal areas. These situations necessitate all time connected sensors for remote coverage with exact location tracking with proper security, even under some unpredictable conditions that may push the devices beyond the usual coverage range. The long-range wide area network (LoRaWAN) protocol offers one solution by providing IoT device/s connection that covers a considerable long range. However, when devices will go beyond this operational range, integrating wireless ad hoc networking within LoRaWAN may provide a solution for range enhancement. Considering the problem, this paper examines the architecture details of LoRaWAN and mobile wireless ad hoc networking (MANET) and also explores the suitable ad hoc networking routing protocol applicable for low-power wide area networks (LPWANs). The implementation for integration possibilities is targeted to overcome the challenges like long-range IoT device connectivity using LoRaWAN protocol, application service base cost-efficient MANET integration with LoRaWAN using ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) or hybrid wireless mesh protocol (HWMP) routing protocol to provide a dynamic, scalable, energy-efficient, cost-effective infrastructure. The ultimate target of this research is to achieve the connectivity range extension for IoT devices.