5 most popular LoRaWAN® indoor gateways on the market

TheThings Network

The Things Network Global Team

Posted on 28-07-2021

LoRaWAN gateways are the bridge between devices and network servers. These are antennas that receive data from end devices, transmit it to the network server and send data back to end devices.
With many gateways on the market and multiple possible applications, choosing the right gateway for your LoRaWAN development can be challenging. Ben Olayinka, Technical Content Writer at The Things Industries, tested and reviewed the 5 most popular LoRaWAN indoor gateways on the market.

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The top 5 LoRaWAN indoor gateways:

  • Mikrotik wAP LR8
  • Multitech Conduit AP
  • Laird Sentrius RG1
  • Tektelic Kona Micro
  • The Things Indoor Gateway

This article reviews many gateway parameters including cost, available wireless and LTE backends, basics station support, design and packaging, and ease of use. They all have 8 channels and are compatible with The Things Stack.

Mikrotik wAP LR8

  • Available wireless and LTE backends: ethernet and WIFI backhauls, supports 2.4Ghz wireless, plus sim slot
  • Antennas: built-in indoor antenna and external antenna port
  • Basics station support: no support yet
  • Ease of use: quick WIFI setup
  • Design and packaging: nice, eco-friendly packaging. Mikrotik's RouterOS well designed and user-friendly
  • Cost: €143.18
  • Additional features: IP54 rating, suitable for outdoor use as weatherproof

Multitech Conduit AP

  • Available wireless and LTE backends: ethernet as a backhaul, with an optional LTE add-on
  • Antennas: internal +2dbi antenna or external antennas
  • Basics station support: with Multitech’s latest firmware 5.30
  • Ease of use: menu system easy to navigate but Ethernet port required and need to switch it from DHCP host to DHCP client before you connect it to your personal network
  • Cost: €290 for the indoor model, all the way up to €1,250 for the IP67 model

Laird Sentrius RG1

  • Available wireless and LTE backends: Ethernet and Wifi backhauls, with an upcoming LTE version for the US
  • Antennas and channel plans: the RG186 supports the EU868 Europe and UK frequency plans, the RG191 supports most parts of the world. It comes standard with a LoRa and two Wifi antennas and claims an impressive 10-mile range for LoRa
  • Basics station support: support
  • Ease of use: easy to configure with WIFI, no Ethernet Jack needed
  • Design and packaging: blue housing with LEDs on the front giving some basic information
  • Cost: about $250

Tektelic Kona Micro

  • Available wireless and LTE backends: 3g/4g and ethernet backhauls
  • Antennas and channel plans: the RG186 supports the EU868 Europe and UK frequency plans, the RG191 supports most parts of the world. It comes standard with a LoRa and two Wifi antennas and claims an impressive 10-mile range for LoRa
  • Basics station support: support with the last Tektelic firmware
  • Ease of use: requires command-line configuration, need for an ethernet jack since there is no wifi
  • Cost: €235 with ethernet or €310 with ethernet + 4g
  • Additional feature: optional battery backup to keep receiving and storing packets even if your network or power go down

The Things Indoor Gateway

  • Available wireless and LTE backends: WIFI backhaul
  • Basics station support: preconfigured for Basics Station CUPS
  • Ease of use: 5-minute setup with WIFI, the easiest and fastest configuration
  • Design and packaging: most compact, discrete in-wall design
  • Cost: €69

Watch the video to see how to set up these gateways:

LoRaWAN® is a mark used under license from the LoRa Alliance®.