The Business of LoRaWAN

Dana Myers, CTO of Lamarr, talks about taking LoRaWAN from curiosity to critical infrastructure. A longtime systems engineer and ham radio operator, Dana explains how his early experimentation with LoRa in the 900 MHz band evolved into deploying hundreds of production devices monitoring water tanks and wells across rural terrain.
He walks through the pivotal moment when Lamarr abandoned an expensive, Raspberry Pi-based “Combox” approach and shifted to low-power LoRaWAN end nodes, cutting costs by an order of magnitude and making the business viable. The conversation dives into what really changes as you move from one prototype to 100 and then to more than 1,000 deployed motes in revenue operation, including hardware revisions, battery budgeting, vendor selection, and the decision to stop building everything in-house.
Dana also breaks down common misconceptions about LoRaWAN, particularly the tendency to treat it like a real-time broadband network. He explains why LoRaWAN requires a mindset shift toward small, infrequent data transmissions, report-on-change logic, and simplicity at the edge. Firmware over-the-air updates, ADR expectations, and backend-driven innovation are all examined through the lens of practical deployment.
The episode closes with Dana’s direct advice to young engineers entering the LoRaWAN space: understand your customers, avoid sunk cost traps, fail fast when necessary, and design for simplicity from day one.
Dana on LinkedIn
Meter.me
Helium Global IoT Coverage - Want to know if Helium coverage exists where you need it? Check out this map!
Helium Foundation - The Helium Foundation's IoT Working Group (IOTWG) has generously provided support for the first 6 months of shows, please go check them out and consider using the Helium LoRaWAN as a primary or backup on your next deployment. With over a quarter million gateways deployed worldwide, it's likely that you have and can use Helium coverage.
Support The Show - If you'd like to support the MetSci Show financially, here's where you can donate on a one-time or an ongoing basis. Thank you!
MetSci Show - If you'd like to use our IoT or AI Data Value calculators, or you'd like to contact me, the MetSci Show site is the best way to do it.
MeteoScientific Console - Use LoRaWAN - The MeteoScientific Console allows you to use LoRaWAN today. As long as you have Helium coverage (and you probably do, about 90% of populated areas in the world have a gateway within 2 miles), you can onboard a sensor. You can always check coverage at https://explorer.helium.com and switch to the "IoT" tab in the top right.

Ofer Tenenbaum, CEO of meter.me, talks about bringing LoRaWAN into one of the toughest real-world environments: rural water infrastructure. Instead of focusing on radio specs or backend architecture alone, Ofer approaches IoT as a UX problem. His mission is to “friendlify” complex systems so plumbers, pump installers, and ranch operators can deploy and manage LoRaWAN without needing to understand SNR, payloads, or networking jargon.
The conversation begins with the scale of water loss in rural environments, where silent leaks can multiply annual usage by hundreds of percent. Ofer explains why visibility, not just connectivity, is the first step toward solving these losses. From there, he outlines how meter.me combines monitoring and control, effectively operating in SCADA territory where reliability is non-negotiable. Water for cattle, irrigation, and fire suppression demands backend redundancy, disciplined change management, and a deep respect for LoRaWAN’s constraints.
A major focus of the discussion is how AI fits into industrial IoT. Rather than using AI as a marketing layer, meter.me deploys it for anomaly detection and conversational setup, allowing installers to configure automation through natural language instead of complex forms and thresholds. Ofer also shares how constant user observation, field visits, SaaS interaction analytics, and structured feedback loops shape product evolution.
This episode offers practical insight for LoRaWAN business leaders, engineers, and system integrators: real differentiation often comes not from the radio, but from how seamlessly the technology fits into the workflow of the people using it.
Ofer on LinkedIn
Meter.me
Helium Global IoT Coverage - Want to know if Helium coverage exists where you need it? Check out this map!
Helium Foundation - The Helium Foundation's IoT Working Group (IOTWG) has generously provided support for the first 6 months of shows, please go check them out and consider using the Helium LoRaWAN as a primary or backup on your next deployment. With over a quarter million gateways deployed worldwide, it's likely that you have and can use Helium coverage.
Support The Show - If you'd like to support the MetSci Show financially, here's where you can donate on a one-time or an ongoing basis. Thank you!
MetSci Show - If you'd like to use our IoT or AI Data Value calculators, or you'd like to contact me, the MetSci Show site is the best way to do it.
MeteoScientific Console - Use LoRaWAN - The MeteoScientific Console allows you to use LoRaWAN today. As long as you have Helium coverage (and you probably do, about 90% of populated areas in the world have a gateway within 2 miles), you can onboard a sensor. You can always check coverage at https://explorer.helium.com and switch to the "IoT" tab in the top right.

Afzal Mangal, former founder of IoT Creators at Deutsche Telekom and founder of Hello Things, talks about why most IoT companies are solving the wrong problem. After years building and scaling IoT platforms inside a global telecom, Afzal argues that the biggest constraint in IoT isn’t technology — it’s momentum.
In this conversation, he explains why marketing is consistently undervalued in IoT, why the industry must “sell the problem before the solution,” and how companies across the value chain — from device makers to network operators — share responsibility for developing the market. Using practical examples, including temperature monitoring in pharma and everyday connected devices that users don’t even recognize as IoT, Afzal makes the case that adoption fails when the category itself isn’t clearly understood.
He also discusses Hello Things, his new initiative focused on collective market development. Rather than leaving ecosystem growth to chance, Afzal proposes coordinated storytelling and consistent messaging to move IoT beyond its internal bubble and into mainstream decision-making. For LoRaWAN professionals, this is particularly relevant: he highlights how authentic community-driven engagement has given LoRaWAN an edge over traditional cellular IoT approaches.
The episode also explores how small engineering-heavy teams can use AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity as practical co-pilots for research, strategy, and messaging without sacrificing technical integrity. For founders, engineers, and ecosystem builders alike, Afzal’s perspective reframes IoT growth as a business discipline, not just a technical one.
Guest Links
Afzal on LinkedIn
Afzal on the web
Helium Global IoT Coverage - Want to know if Helium coverage exists where you need it? Check out this map!
Helium Foundation - The Helium Foundation's IoT Working Group (IOTWG) has generously provided support for the first 6 months of shows, please go check them out and consider using the Helium LoRaWAN as a primary or backup on your next deployment. With over a quarter million gateways deployed worldwide, it's likely that you have and can use Helium coverage.
Support The Show - If you'd like to support the MetSci Show financially, here's where you can donate on a one-time or an ongoing basis. Thank you!
MetSci Show - If you'd like to use our IoT or AI Data Value calculators, or you'd like to contact me, the MetSci Show site is the best way to do it.
MeteoScientific Console - Use LoRaWAN - The MeteoScientific Console allows you to use LoRaWAN today. As long as you have Helium coverage (and you probably do, about 90% of populated areas in the world have a gateway within 2 miles), you can onboard a sensor. You can always check coverage at https://explorer.helium.com and switch to the "IoT" tab in the top right.

Klas Engström, Sales Director at Nichicon, talks about how power architecture decisions quietly determine whether IoT deployments succeed or fail at scale. Drawing on more than a decade at Nichicon, Klas explains why batteries are often treated as an afterthought in device design, and why that mindset breaks down once LoRaWAN devices move from prototypes to real-world, long-life deployments.
The conversation centers on lithium titanate oxide (LTO) batteries and where they fit between supercapacitors and conventional lithium-ion. Klas outlines three practical use cases where LTO excels: energy-harvesting systems that need continuous recharge with high pulse currents, hybrid designs that extend the lifetime of primary batteries by offloading power spikes, and applications where fast charge times enable entirely new duty cycles. Rather than positioning LTO as a universal replacement, he is clear about tradeoffs in capacity and cost, and why understanding current capability and lifetime behavior matters more than headline milliamp-hours.
Klas also discusses Nichicon’s work on self-charging batteries using indoor photovoltaic cells, demonstrating how LoRaWAN devices can remain energy-autonomous even at high spreading factors under typical indoor lighting. The episode explores cold-temperature performance, safety characteristics compared to other lithium chemistries, and why LTO can be charged and discharged safely at temperatures where most batteries fail.
Throughout the discussion, Klas emphasizes total cost of ownership, arguing that service visits and battery replacements often dwarf component costs in real deployments. For business leaders, engineers, and advanced builders alike, this episode reframes power as a strategic design decision rather than a line item on the bill of materials.
Links:
Klas on LinkedIn
Nichicon
Helium Global IoT Coverage - Want to know if Helium coverage exists where you need it? Check out this map!
Helium Foundation - The Helium Foundation's IoT Working Group (IOTWG) has generously provided support for the first 6 months of shows, please go check them out and consider using the Helium LoRaWAN as a primary or backup on your next deployment. With over a quarter million gateways deployed worldwide, it's likely that you have and can use Helium coverage.
Support The Show - If you'd like to support the MetSci Show financially, here's where you can donate on a one-time or an ongoing basis. Thank you!
MetSci Show - If you'd like to use our IoT or AI Data Value calculators, or you'd like to contact me, the MetSci Show site is the best way to do it.
MeteoScientific Console - Use LoRaWAN - The MeteoScientific Console allows you to use LoRaWAN today. As long as you have Helium coverage (and you probably do, about 90% of populated areas in the world have a gateway within 2 miles), you can onboard a sensor. You can always check coverage at https://explorer.helium.com and switch to the "IoT" tab in the top right.

Derek Tuando, IoT specialist and creator of LoRaDB, talks about why traditional databases often fall short when applied to real-world LoRaWAN deployments, and what changes when data systems are designed with devices—not tables or tags—as the primary organizing principle.
Derek explains what an IoT database actually is, drawing clear distinctions between general-purpose databases, time-series tools, and systems purpose-built for LoRaWAN workloads. He outlines the practical challenges that emerge as projects grow beyond early pilots, including query complexity, usability issues, and the friction teams face when stitching together multiple tools just to visualize and understand device data.
The conversation dives into the core idea behind LoRaDB’s device-first data model, where all data is organized around a device’s identity rather than abstract measurements. Derek walks through how this approach simplifies querying, speeds up exploration, and makes LoRaWAN data more intuitive to work with—especially for small teams, hobbyists, and lean organizations managing thousands to tens of thousands of devices.
Derek also discusses where LoRaDB fits today, including its strengths in ease of setup, open-source accessibility, and built-in visualization, as well as its current limitations around high availability and large-scale enterprise deployments. He shares how the project is being used in production, why it’s designed to complement existing LoRaWAN stacks like ChirpStack, and how future improvements are focused on lowering the barrier for new users rather than chasing complexity.
This episode offers a grounded look at the data layer of LoRaWAN systems, with practical insights for builders, operators, and businesses deciding how to store, query, and actually use the data their devices generate.
Links
Derek on LinkedIn
LoRaDB on Github
Helium Global IoT Coverage - Want to know if Helium coverage exists where you need it? Check out this map!
Helium Foundation - The Helium Foundation's IoT Working Group (IOTWG) has generously provided support for the first 6 months of shows, please go check them out and consider using the Helium LoRaWAN as a primary or backup on your next deployment. With over a quarter million gateways deployed worldwide, it's likely that you have and can use Helium coverage.
Support The Show - If you'd like to support the MetSci Show financially, here's where you can donate on a one-time or an ongoing basis. Thank you!
MetSci Show - If you'd like to use our IoT or AI Data Value calculators, or you'd like to contact me, the MetSci Show site is the best way to do it.
MeteoScientific Console - Use LoRaWAN - The MeteoScientific Console allows you to use LoRaWAN today. As long as you have Helium coverage (and you probably do, about 90% of populated areas in the world have a gateway within 2 miles), you can onboard a sensor. You can always check coverage at https://explorer.helium.com and switch to the "IoT" tab in the top right.