Gateway Channel Hopping to Improve Transmission Efficiency in Long-range IoT Networks

Intelligent services have expanded as Internet of Things (IoT) technology has evolved and new requirements emerge to accommodate various services. One new requirement is transmitting data over long distances with low-power. Researchers have developed low power wide area (LPWA) network technology to satisfy the requirement; this can improve IoT network infrastructure and increase the range of services. However, network coverage expansion causes several problems. The traffic load is concentrated at a specific gateway, which causes network congestion and leads to decreased transmission efficiency. Therefore, the approach proposed in this paper attempts to recognize and then avoid congestion through gateway channel hopping. The LPWA network employs multiple channels, so wireless channel hopping is available in a gateway. Devices that are not delay sensitive wait for the gateway to reappear on their wireless channel; delay sensitive devices change the wireless channel along the hopping gateway. Thus, the traffic load and congestion in each wireless channel can be reduced improving transmission efficiency. The proposed approach’s performance is evaluated by computer simulation and verified in terms of transmission efficiency.