There are several options. You may connect to the provider of "hosted servers" and verify functionality. This would be a first approach to see if you are compliant. Also, the approved certification houses of the LoRa Alliance™ are currently building pre-certification offers, you may want to reach out to them and request it. Check the LoRa Alliance™ certification overview page.

LoRaWAN certification ensures interoperability and compliance with LoRaWAN networks and will be requested by LoRaWAN network carriers. It also entitles the use of the LoRa Alliance Certified logo.

Currently the certification program is for Class A devices at EU region 863-870MHz band.

The certification program for Class B, Class C and Gateway devices has not yet been opened.

The certification program for regions that do not use the EU ISM Band is also still under development. However you may contact Espotel if you are interested in pre-certification testing for devices that do not yet have a certification program.

The LoRaWAN certification process with Espotel is as follows:

1. Contact Espotel for a quote. We can guide you through the whole process.
2.  Prepare your product(s) for certification. We can guide you through these requirements.
   • Must fulfill 2015-LoRaWAN_Specification_1R0_611_1. The specification is available from the LoRa Alliance.
   • Must fulfill LoRa Alliance End Device Certification Requirements for EU. The specification is available from the LoRa Alliance.
3. Fill in the certification questionnaire. The questionnaire is available from the LoRa Alliance.
4. Send your product to us. It should be ready for Over the Air activation or already personalized.
5. We run the certification tests and send you the results.
6.  If test passed, either we or you can provide the results to LoRa Alliance.
7.  If test failed we will give you the diagnostics and help you to fix the problem. Then follows a retest (step 4 again).
8.  Alliance reviews the passed test result and produces the LoRaWAN certificate.

Results and basic product information are released on LoRa Alliance web page. This can be delayed if a certain product launch date is requested.

Full guidance through the LoRaWAN certification process. The certification testing includes test diagnostics and instructions for corrections in case your node fails.

Also a single retest round is included in the price if the node fails.

No, regulatory testing can take place before, after or at the same time as the LoRaWAN certification testing.

Espotel can also help you with the regulatory approvals, so that you get a full turnkey solution for your testing, certification and regulatory approval needs.

If a time is booked for certification and an end node provided,  the test report will be delivered within one weeks’ time from the booked date.

The LoRaWAN certification testing tests for end node functionality, in other words it tests that node’s LoRaWAN protocol stack and application are compliant with the LoRaWAN specification.

The certification does not cover radio performance. Radio performance includes things such as the radiated power, radio sensitivity etc. These are key parameters for good performance when signal strength is poorer. This is also something where Espotel can help you.

For a network operator it would be useful to set minimum acceptable performance requirements for nodes. This would ensure that end customers get the best possible network coverage. If you are a LoRaWAN network operator, Espotel could help you to setup end node requirements. If you are an end node manufacturer Espotel may perform performance testing for your nodes.

LoRa Alliance is an open, non-profit association of members that believe the internet of things era is now. Our mission to standardize Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) being deployed around the world to enable Internet of Things (IoT), machine-to-machine (M2M), and smart city, and industrial applications. The Alliance members will collaborate to drive the global success of the LoRa protocol (LoRaWAN), by sharing knowledge and experience to guarantee interoperability between operators in one open global standard.

In other words, the Alliance drives the standardization of LoRaWAN such that sensors can be connected anywhere around the world where network operators roll our LoRaWAN networks. The driving forces behind the Alliance are the Mobile Network operators and big industrial companies who all benefit from one global standard: LoRaWAN.

For a short introduction on the LoRa Alliance check this animation. 

The LoRa Alliance defines the processes for certification of modules, modems and sensors related to the LoRaWAN compliance. The actual certification is executed by test houses around the world and us such a company does not need to be a member of the LoRa Alliance to certify a module, modem or sensor.

When using a pre-certfified module or modem the sensor does not need to be certified for LoRaWAN compliance again. However additional certification for ETSI or FCC compliance (related to output power and duty cycle) will be required for any sensor before it can be subscribed to a LoRaWAN network.

For further information please check the LoRa Alliance website  or send an email to [email protected].