Modelling of the packet delivery rate in an actual LoRaWAN network

The Internet of things (IoT) paradigm is paving the way to ensure connectivity and monitoring within different market fields. Thus, it is critical to understand the packet transmission performance in Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN), especially LoRaWAN. Packet delivery rate (PDR) is considered as a dominant factor of the network performance and its dependency on the signal power. However, previous works do not model the PDR as a function of the received signal power. An in-depth investigation of the PDR is done by performing an outdoor measurement campaign in the area of the Campus Beaulieu in Rennes. For each received LoRa packet, the effective signal power (ESP) values are obtained as well as their high influence on PDR is proven. With the given results, modelling the PDR using an ESP-parameterized beta distribution function is proposed. Feasibility of the proposed model is assured by simulating PDR against ESP, hence, the simulated PDR values follow the distribution of the measured ones well. This PDR model gives important guidelines for future LoRaWAN network regulation and optimization.

Automated summary

The study investigates the relationship between packet delivery rate (PDR) and signal power in LoRaWAN, proposing a new model to characterize PDR and validating the feasibility of the model through simulation with measured data.