Mobile Networks and Applications https://doi.org/10.1007/s11036-019-01235-5 A Low-Cost and Low-Power Messaging System Based on the LoRa Wireless Technology Angelica Moreno Cardenas 1 · Miguel Kiyoshy Nakamura Pinto 1 · Ermanno Pietrosemoli 2 · Marco Zennaro 2 · Marco Rainone 2 · Pietro Manzoni 1 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract In this paper we describe a low-cost and low-power consumption messaging system based on LoRa technology. More that one billion people worldwide cannot access even the most basic connectivity services. For them even simple messaging services would be of great help, for example to farmers wishing to know the price of goods they want to sell or buy before deciding whether a possibly long, expensive and exhausting trip is undertaken. LoRa networks allow for very long wireless links that can connect villages and towns. This system falls in the category of community networks, where users build their own network where no commercial infrastructure is available. In addition to the simple messaging application, LoRa can be used to distribute sensor information to communities or to provide disaster alerts or meteorological data. Keywords LoRa · Messaging · ICT4D · Community networks 1 Introduction A service like SMS has been the killer application for mobile services all over the world since it offered a flexible communication channel between individuals and among members of a community. The possibility to communicate  Pietro Manzoni pmanzoni@disca.upv.es Angelica Moreno Cardenas anmocar1@teleco.upv.es Miguel Kiyoshy Nakamura Pinto minapin@posgrado.upv.es Ermanno Pietrosemoli ermanno@ictp.it Marco Zennaro mzennaro@ictp.it Marco Rainone mrainone@ictp.it 1 Universitat Polit` ecnica de Val` encia, Camino de Vera, s/n Valencia, Spain 2 ICTP - International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera, 11 Trieste, Italy between villages and between villages and main cities is a highly demanded service either for purely personal use or for commercial purposes in rural areas in developing countries, too. For example, Martinez et al. offer in [6] an analysis of the communication needs in rural primary health care in devel- oping countries. Although many interesting applications of telemedicine can be implemented with broadband solutions, one very simple application originally implemented over HF voice only radio communication proved quite success- ful: scheduling patient doctor’s appointments. It was found that patients in isolated areas had to spend significant time and resources to reach the nearest hospital, and often they could not be treated immediately but given an appointment at a time that implied a second trip from home. A simple messaging application like the one we are proposing could serve to arrange for a specific date in which the patient is guaranteed treatment, thus saving time and resources. The lack of coverage in rural areas is the consequence of a basic economic challenge: deploying infrastructure there can be twice as expensive, while revenue can be as much as ten times lower [8]. In this work we define the architecture for a messaging system that combines very cheap and flexible devices and the LoRa technology to establish links that can span wide areas with an easy to use interface. The unlicensed 868 MHz or 433 bands in Europe and Africa as well as the 900 MHz in America can be exploited for this purpose. By leveraging the LoRa