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Recommendations Based on Test Results

Based on comprehensive real-world field testing of the LoRaWAN gateway across multi-floor indoor environments, urban directional deployments, rooftop installations, open outdoor spaces, and near line-of-sight (LoS) scenarios, and validated under harsh Indian weather conditions (monsoon rainfall, high temperatures, elevated humidity, and seasonal variations), the following recommendations are proposed to ensure optimal coverage, long-term reliability, and scalable network design.

These recommendations are derived from measured RSSI, SNR, packet loss trends, and deployment observations, and are intended for production-grade LoRaWAN deployments, not laboratory scenarios.

Gateway Placement Strategy​

Indoor and Multi-Floor Buildings​

  • For buildings with up to four to six floors, gateway installation at the basement or lower floors can still provide reliable vertical coverage, even under high-humidity and monsoon conditions.
  • For taller buildings or higher node density, mid-height placement is recommended to balance vertical and horizontal signal propagation and reduce weather-amplified attenuation.
  • Avoid placing gateways near elevator shafts, dense metallic structures, electrical rooms, or heavy machinery, as these areas consistently exhibited increased signal attenuation and packet loss, particularly during humid and rainy conditions.

Rooftop Deployments​

  • Rooftop installation is strongly recommended for urban, campus-wide, and industrial deployments, offering superior radial and horizontal coverage.
  • Ensure adequate clearance from parapets, walls, and nearby structures to minimize shadowing, multipath effects, and weather-related reflections.
  • Rooftop deployments demonstrated strong resilience to seasonal weather variations, making them suitable for year-round operation.

Antenna Orientation and Placement​

  • Antenna orientation has a direct and measurable impact on LoRaWAN performance, especially in indoor and semi-indoor environments.
  • A slight downward antenna tilt is recommended when prioritizing coverage for lower floors and basement areas, particularly under monsoon and high-humidity conditions.
  • A neutral or upward orientation is suitable when coverage is required for mid-to-upper floors or open rooftop deployments.
  • Minor antenna adjustments during installation were observed to significantly improve RSSI stability, SNR margins, and packet delivery consistency.

Network Design, Redundancy, and Weather Resilience​

  • In environments with high EMI, dense construction, or mission-critical monitoring, deploying multiple gateways with overlapping coverage is preferred over a single high-power installation.
  • Redundant gateway coverage improves network resilience during adverse weather, minimizes packet loss, and ensures consistent data availability.
  • Directional and outdoor testing confirmed that terrain, vegetation, and seasonal atmospheric conditions can influence range, making site surveys and pilot deployments strongly recommended before large-scale rollouts.

Indoor, Outdoor, and Near LoS Deployment Considerations​

  • Indoor deployments should prioritize RSSI and SNR stability over maximum range, as structural and humidity-related effects dominate performance.
  • Outdoor and near line-of-sight (LoS) deployments demonstrated significantly extended communication range and better tolerance to weather variations compared to dense indoor environments.
  • For mixed deployments, a combination of rooftop gateways and strategically placed indoor gateways provides the most reliable year-round coverage.

Configuration and Operational Best Practices​

  • Fixed transmission power and controlled uplink intervals provide predictable and repeatable network behavior, especially during long-term environmental testing.
  • Adaptive Data Rate (ADR) can be enabled after deployment validation to improve network efficiency in stable conditions.
  • Continuous monitoring of RSSI, SNR, packet loss, and seasonal trends is recommended to proactively identify coverage degradation due to environmental or infrastructure changes.

Scalability and Future Expansion​

  • The validated gateway configuration supports scalable deployments across buildings, campuses, industrial zones, and urban infrastructure.
  • As node density increases, gateway density and placement should be adjusted to maintain consistent link margins under all weather conditions.
  • The results and recommendations from this report can be used as a baseline reference for future expansions, performance benchmarking, and long-term network optimization.

Final Summary​

The field test results confirm that strategic gateway placement, correct antenna orientation, and thoughtful network design are essential to achieving reliable, weather-resilient LoRaWAN performance in real-world Indian deployment conditions.

By following these recommendations, system integrators and enterprises can ensure stable connectivity, low packet loss, predictable behavior, and year-round operational reliability across indoor, urban, and outdoor LoRaWAN deployments.