ThingPark Exchange is the first LoRaWAN peering hub providing technical and business enablers for public operators and enterprise networks

Public operators, service providers, and private IoT network operators can take advantage of ThingPark Exchange to create and manage roaming and device activation between LoRaWAN networks with high efficiency and lower cost, supporting international services and multinational customers, extending available coverage, and generating new revenue opportunities.

Why is roaming an essential feature for scaling IoT ?

Roaming scalability

As the number of LoRaWAN public and private network operators increases, the need for a scaleable roaming solution is clear:
Managing multiple roaming relationships between network servers technically – and operator companies commercially – is not scalable over large numbers of separate networks.
The solution is a roaming hub service, which each operator connects to just once, which enables:

• greater efficiency
• lower management cost
• faster roll-out
• wider outbound reach
• higher inbound roaming revenue

Coverage extension

Improve coverage for a given device by allowing it to connect via gateways belonging to another network.
The better the gateway coverage for a device, the lower the power consumption thanks to the adaptive data rate, extending battery life.
Connecting to more gateways enables and improves the accuracy of network-based device geolocation.
Devices normally connected by a private network can benefit from public network coverage when away for “home” locations. For example, industrial asset monitoring devices may connect to private networks in a factory or a warehouse, but can be tracked along roads or railways using public networks.

Multi-national customers

Large-scale multinational companies may have facilities in a number of countries with different LoRaWAN operators covering the territory. Roaming enables the multinational companies to have a single commercial relationship with an operator in their home territory (for example KPN in the Netherlands or Orange in France) but deploy the same applications and services across their footprint. They may also benefit from roaming between their private network serving facilities in multiple countries, and public coverage outside those premises.

International use cases

Some applications, particularly in the field of logistics and supply chain, rely on being able to connect the same LoRaWAN tracking and monitoring device to multiple LoRaWAN networks as it moves through different stages of its journey. For example, a container may be filled in Shenzhen, transit via Dubai to Rotterdam, board a ferry to the UK on a truck, and be delivered by road to Birmingham, being tracked all the way and its temperature, humidity, and exposure to shocks monitored.

The ThingPark Exchange peering hub features

Technical network interconnection

ThingPark Exchange’s interconnection service is a high-availability and secure enablement platform between public service providers and private enterprise networks, offering:

LoRaWAN back-end interface compliant

• Fully compliant LoRaWAN Back-end interfaces 1.0 call flows for NS to NS passive roaming

• Forwards Passive Roaming signaling and traffic among fNs, sNS; home NS discovery signaling between NS and JS

Proxy network

Replace costly mesh topology with star topology of backend interfaces

Join server

External Join servers can be connected  for easy and secure device activation

Roaming agreement business execution

Connecting to ThingParkExchange gives quick access to the largest LoRaWAN service provider community.
Based on the most widely used platform powering LoRaWAN deployments in over 60 countries

Policy control

Supports Unrestricted Peering and Balanced Peering policies, chosen by network providers

Accounting

• Detailed usage records per connected partner
• (NetID) Zone-based accounting to define zone-based charging between SPs

Cost efficient

Low interconnection OPEX to build your service for multi-country networks

Activation Hub

Adding the Actility ThingPark Activation service to ThingPark Exchange, allows benefiting from an easier, more scalable and secure device activation on the LoRaWAN network

Do you operate a LoRaWAN public or enterprise network ?

Get in touch to learn how you can connect your network to ThingPark Exchange

What will your ThingPark Exchange journey be ?

Step 1 : join the peering hub

•Sign up for ThingPark Exchange

•Interconnection between Service Provider NS and ThingPark Exchange for Passive Roaming , Activation

Step 2 : Build your agreement

•Build your bilateral agreement based on the required business model (international wholesale agreements, in-country complementary coverage, etc.)

•Access the list of available SPs in ThingParkExchange and request NS-NS, NS-JS interconnect

•Service Provider provision their NSs and JSs in corresponding trusted Operator tables

Step 3 : collect reports & settle

•Enabled through ThingPark Exchange build your passive roaming, activation use case

•Collect records from ThingPark Exchange to settle your bilateral agreements