Toward Future LoRa-Based LEO Satellite IoT: Opportunities, Framework, and Research Directions

Featuring energy-efficient and cost-effective communications for low power wide area network (LPWAN), LoRa (Long Range) has manifested its crucial role in the Internet-of-Things (IoT) industry. However, the existing terrestrial LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) networks may fail to guarantee the pervasive connectivity, especially in rural and remote areas. To tackle this challenge, integrating LoRa-based low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite IoT into the LoRa ecosystem has aroused a growing interest in both academia and industry. To comprehend such a new paradigm, we investigate LoRa-based LEO satellite IoT in this article, focusing on its development opportunities, network framework and future research directions. In particular, we provide an in-depth insight into its feasibility and scalability by numerical simulations considering practical system parameters. Technical challenges are also discussed to specify its standardization progress.