Ray Tracing-Based LoRaWAN Gateway Placement for Reliable Connectivity in Amazonian Regions
2026-08-31 • Networking and Internet Architecture
Networking and Internet Architecture
AI summaryⓘ
The authors studied how different ways of modeling wireless signal paths affect the setup of networks in the Amazon rainforest. They focused on how accurately predicting communication between devices and gateways helps avoid placing too many gateways, which are costly. Their research found that using general channel models can make planners think more gateways are needed than actually necessary. In contrast, using models specific to the actual environment results in fewer gateways while still meeting communication needs.
Network planningWireless communicationsInternet of ThingsLong-range wide-area networkChannel modelGateway placementRay tracingEmpirical channel modelStochastic channel modelPacket delivery ratio
Authors
Cláudio Modesto, Lucas Mozart, Cleverson Nahum, Bruno Castro, Aldebaro Klautau
Abstract
Network planning is an important task in wireless communications, as it helps network operators avoid unnecessary costs. In the context of the internet of things, using long-range wide-area network technologies in the Amazon rainforest, a key challenge is ensuring reliable communication between end-devices and gateways (GWs). In this sense, this reliability is strongly affected by channel conditions. Thus, during the planning phase, choosing the appropriate channel model is an important decision for accurate simulations. Given this motivation, in this work, we propose an optimization model to evaluate the impact of different types of channels on coverage and packet delivery ratio in a forest scenario. We used channels from ray tracing, empirical, and stochastic approaches to assess how decisions made during the network planning phase, in terms of the channel used, affect GW placement and, specifically, the percentage of end-devices covered and the reliability of the communication system. Our results show that GW placement based on site-independent channels can overestimate the number of GWs required to meet the network requirements, whereas using site-specific channels allows us to satisfy the same requirements with fewer GWs.