{"id":9126,"date":"2026-04-29T20:46:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/?page_id=9126"},"modified":"2026-05-07T06:18:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T06:18:53","slug":"comparative-measurements-of-169-433-868-2400-mhz-bands","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/comparative-measurements-of-169-433-868-2400-mhz-bands\/","title":{"rendered":"169\/433\/868\/2400 MHz LoRaWAN Comparison"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Last updated:<\/strong>\u00a0April 30, 2026<\/p>\n<p>This article provides\u00a0<strong>comparative measurements of 169, 433, 868 and 2400 MHz bands<\/strong>\u00a0available for short-range devices in the Czech Republic. The 433, 868 and 2400 MHz bands are measured using the LoRaWAN protocol, while the 169 MHz band is operated as a sole LoRa link in a Point-to-Point (P2P) topology, as it is not supported within The Things Network. The article explores how the operating frequency influences range, signal penetration and overall reliability of communication in real-world environments.<\/p>\n<p>The article is based on a bachelor\u2019s thesis on the topic of\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vsb.cz\/personCards\/theses.jsp?login=DVO133&amp;lang=cs\">Verification of the Communication Capabilities of the LoRaWAN Technology Operating at Different Frequency Bands<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>End nodes<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>For each tested band, a dedicated end device with an integrated LoRa transceiver was used. Setups for the end-devices were used from these articles: <a href=\"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/lorawan-node-at-433-mhz-band\/\"><strong>LoRaWAN Node at 433 MHz Band<\/strong><\/a>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/adafruit-feather-32u4\/\">868 MHz Adafruit Feather 32u4<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/2-4ghz-lorawan\/\">2,4 GHz LoRaWAN Setup.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>169 MHz:<\/strong>\u00a0ESP32 microcontroller with a single-chip LoRa module, operating in Point-to-Point mode (no LoRaWAN stack, no TTN).<\/li>\n<li><strong>433 MHz:<\/strong> LilyGO T-Beam v1.2 with Semtech SX1278 transceiver.<\/li>\n<li><strong>868 MHz:<\/strong> Adafruit Feather 32u4 LoRa with RFM95W module (Semtech SX1276).<\/li>\n<li><strong>2400 MHz:<\/strong> LilyGO T3 S3 (ESP32-S3) with Semtech SX1280 transceiver.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; justify-content: center; gap: 16px; margin: 20px 0;\">\n<figure style=\"flex: 0 1 calc(50% - 16px); margin: 0; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto; max-width: 400px;\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/node_169.png\" alt=\"End device for 169 MHz with ESP-32\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-style: italic; margin-top: 8px;\">End device for 169 MHz (ESP-32)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"flex: 0 1 calc(50% - 16px); margin: 0; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" style=\"width: 385px; height: 286px; max-width: 400px;\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/LilyGO_TBeam_v1.2.jpg\" alt=\"LilyGO T-Beam v1.2\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-style: italic; margin-top: 8px;\">End device for 433 MHz (LilyGO T-Beam v1.2)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"flex: 0 1 calc(50% - 16px); margin: 0; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" style=\"width: 377px; height: 323px; max-width: 400px;\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Adafruit_Feather_LoRa.jpg\" alt=\"Adafruit Feather 32u4 LoRa\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-style: italic; margin-top: 8px;\">End device for 868 MHz (Adafruit Feather 32u4)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"flex: 0 1 calc(50% - 16px); margin: 0; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" style=\"width: 345px; height: 345px; max-width: 400px;\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/LilyGO_T3S3-1.png\" alt=\"LilyGO T3 S3\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-style: italic; margin-top: 8px;\">End device for 2400 MHz (LilyGO T3 S3)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>Gateways<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The gateway antennas are mounted on the roof of Building B of the V\u0160B-TUO student dormitories in Ostrava-Poruba, approximately 40 m above ground level. The parameters of the gateways are described in the articles<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/433-mhz-rak5146l-spi-lora-basics-station\/\">433 MHz RAK5146L SPI \u2013 LoRa Basics Station<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/868-mhz-ic880a-lora-basics-station\/\">868 MHz iC880a \u2013 LoRa Basics Station<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/lora-169-mhz\/\">LoRaWAN @ 169 MHz<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/2-4ghz-lorawan\/\">2,4 GHz LoRaWAN Setup.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>GPS: 49.8365147N, 18.1594753E, 280 m<\/li>\n<li>Address: Ostrava, Studentsk\u00e1 1770\/1<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9016\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gw-koleje.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"459\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gw-koleje.jpg 459w, https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gw-koleje-275x300.jpg 275w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 459px) 100vw, 459px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For the 433, 868 and 2400 MHz bands, the gateways forward data via UDP Packet Forwarder to The Things Stack (TTN V3, cluster\u00a0<code>eu1.cloud.thethings.network<\/code>).<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Network parameters<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Four transmission chains were measured. The 433, 868 and 2400 MHz chains use the LoRaWAN protocol with their respective regional plans (EU433, EU868, ISM2400). The 169 MHz chain runs as a sole LoRa P2P link.<br \/>\nMore information on the individual band parameters can be found here: 169 MHz <a href=\"https:\/\/semtech.my.salesforce.com\/sfc\/p\/#E0000000JelG\/a\/2R0000001Rbr\/6EfVZUorrpoKFfvaF_Fkpgp5kzjiNyiAbqcpqh9qSjE\">SX1276\/77\/78\/79 137 MHz &#8211; 1020 MHz Low Power Long Range Transceiver<\/a>, 433, 868 MHz <a href=\"https:\/\/lora-alliance.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/lorawan_regional_parameters_v1.0.3reva_0.pdf\">LoRaWAN regional parameters<\/a>; 2,4 GHz <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semtech.com\/uploads\/technology\/LoRa\/phy-layer-2g4.pdf\">Physical Layer Proposal 2.4GHz<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>169 MHz<\/strong> (169.400\u2013169.8125 MHz): max ERP up to +27 dBm in selected sub-bands, narrow channels (12.5 \/ 25 \/ 50 kHz), Duty Cycle 0.1 % to 10 % depending on sub-band, or Listen Before Talk (LBT), but the LoRaWAN specification specifies duty cycles. And in most regions, the duty cycle for these frequencies is set to 1 %.<\/li>\n<li><strong>EU433<\/strong>\u00a0(433.05\u2013434.79 MHz): max ERP +10 dBm, Duty Cycle &lt; 1 % per LoRaWAN spec, channel bandwidth 125 kHz.<\/li>\n<li><strong>EU868<\/strong>\u00a0(863\u2013870 MHz): max ERP +14 dBm, Duty Cycle &lt; 1 %, channel bandwidth 125 kHz (250 kHz only for uplink).<\/li>\n<li><strong>ISM2400<\/strong>\u00a0(2400\u20132483.5 MHz): max EIRP +20 dBm, no Duty Cycle limit under the SRD authorization, channel bandwidth 812 kHz.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th><\/th>\n<th>169 MHz<\/th>\n<th>433 MHz<\/th>\n<th>868 MHz<\/th>\n<th>2400 MHz<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Frequency range<\/td>\n<td>169.400\u2013169.8125 MHz<\/td>\n<td>433.05\u2013434.79 MHz<\/td>\n<td>863\u2013870 MHz<\/td>\n<td>2400\u20132483.5 MHz<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Maximum ERP \/ EIRP<\/td>\n<td>+27 dBm (ERP)<\/td>\n<td>+10 dBm (ERP)<\/td>\n<td>+14 dBm (ERP)<\/td>\n<td>+20 dBm (EIRP)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Duty Cycle<\/td>\n<td>&lt; 1 %<\/td>\n<td>&lt; 1 %<\/td>\n<td>&lt; 1 %<\/td>\n<td>\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Channel bandwidth<\/td>\n<td>12.5 \/ 25 \/ 50 kHz<\/td>\n<td>125 kHz<\/td>\n<td>125 kHz<\/td>\n<td>812 kHz<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>LoRaWAN supported<\/td>\n<td>No (LoRa P2P only)<\/td>\n<td>Yes (EU433)<\/td>\n<td>Yes (EU868)<\/td>\n<td>Yes (ISM2400)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>All measurements are taken from the uplink direction (end node \u2192 gateway), as this is the primary direction of LoRaWAN communication.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>RSSI and SNR<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>RSSI and SNR are used as the main metrics for evaluating the quality of the received signal.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator):<\/strong>\u00a0Measured in dBm, indicates the received power level.<\/li>\n<li><strong>SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio):<\/strong>\u00a0Measured in dB, expresses how strong the useful signal is compared to noise. Thanks to the CSS modulation, LoRa is able to demodulate signals even below the noise floor (negative SNR).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>LoRa demodulation thresholds (BW = 125 kHz):<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Spreading Factor<\/th>\n<th>Minimum SNR<\/th>\n<th>Theoretical RSSI sensitivity<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>SF7<\/td>\n<td>\u22127.5 dB<\/td>\n<td>\u2212123 dBm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>SF8<\/td>\n<td>\u221210.0 dB<\/td>\n<td>\u2212126 dBm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>SF9<\/td>\n<td>\u221212.5 dB<\/td>\n<td>\u2212129 dBm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>SF10<\/td>\n<td>\u221215.0 dB<\/td>\n<td>\u2212132 dBm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>SF11<\/td>\n<td>\u221217.5 dB<\/td>\n<td>\u2212134.5 dBm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>SF12<\/td>\n<td>\u221220.0 dB<\/td>\n<td>\u2212137 dBm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Measurement scenarios<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Eight scenarios were designed to cover a broad range of propagation conditions \u2014 from line-of-sight in the countryside, through dense urban areas, to indoor signal penetration.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Scenario<\/th>\n<th>Distance from gateway<\/th>\n<th>GPS coordinates<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>1. Countryside (Line of Sight)<\/td>\n<td>5.3 km<\/td>\n<td>49.8303747N, 18.0863556E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2. Near Side, 2nd floor<\/td>\n<td>1 km<\/td>\n<td>49.8275822N, 18.1624956E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>3. Indoor \u2014 near side to gateway<\/td>\n<td>1 km<\/td>\n<td>49.8275719N, 18.1628281E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4. Indoor \u2014 far side from gateway<\/td>\n<td>1 km<\/td>\n<td>49.8274472N, 18.1626886E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>5. Dense urban area<\/td>\n<td>1.8 km<\/td>\n<td>49.8215847N, 18.1725322E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>6. Near Side, 6th floor<\/td>\n<td>6.9 km<\/td>\n<td>49.8340600N, 18.2561581E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>7. Exterior \u2014 near side to gateway<\/td>\n<td>6.9 km<\/td>\n<td>49.8340064N, 18.2558578E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>8. Parking lot<\/td>\n<td>1.6 km<\/td>\n<td>49.8478497N, 18.1455867E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9132\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/scenare.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"981\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/scenare.png 981w, https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/scenare-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/scenare-768x257.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 981px) 100vw, 981px\" \/><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr); gap: 12px; margin: 20px 0;\">\n<figure style=\"margin: 0; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 240px; object-fit: cover; border-radius: 4px;\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/scenar_1.png\" alt=\"Scenario 1\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-style: italic; margin-top: 6px; font-size: 0.9em;\">Scenario 1 \u2013 Countryside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"margin: 0; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 240px; object-fit: cover; border-radius: 4px;\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/scenar_2.png\" alt=\"Scenario 2\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-style: italic; margin-top: 6px; font-size: 0.9em;\">Scenario 2 \u2013 2nd floor balcony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"margin: 0; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 240px; object-fit: cover; border-radius: 4px;\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/scenar_4.png\" alt=\"Scenario 4\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-style: italic; margin-top: 6px; font-size: 0.9em;\">Scenario 4 \u2013 Indoor (far side)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"margin: 0; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 240px; object-fit: cover; border-radius: 4px;\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/scenar_5.png\" alt=\"Scenario 5\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-style: italic; margin-top: 6px; font-size: 0.9em;\">Scenario 5 \u2013 Dense urban area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"margin: 0; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 240px; object-fit: cover; border-radius: 4px;\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/scenar_7.png\" alt=\"Scenario 7\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-style: italic; margin-top: 6px; font-size: 0.9em;\">Scenario 7 \u2013 Exterior, near side<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"margin: 0; text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 240px; object-fit: cover; border-radius: 4px;\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/scenar_8-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Scenario 8\" \/><figcaption style=\"font-style: italic; margin-top: 6px; font-size: 0.9em;\">Scenario 8 \u2013 Parking lot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><strong>Results of measurement<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Each scenario was measured for about 15 minutes.<\/li>\n<li>During the measurements, data collection scripts (MQTT &amp; Python) were used to collect the data in a CSV format.<\/li>\n<li>The data was then categorized based on recorded timestamps into individual scenarios.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Scenario<\/th>\n<th>Distance<\/th>\n<th>169 MHz<br \/>\nRSSI [dBm] \/ SNR [dB]<\/th>\n<th>433 MHz<br \/>\nRSSI [dBm] \/ SNR [dB]<\/th>\n<th>868 MHz<br \/>\nRSSI [dBm] \/ SNR [dB]<\/th>\n<th>2400 MHz<br \/>\nRSSI [dBm] \/ SNR [dB]<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>1. Countryside<\/td>\n<td>5.3 km<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<td>\u2212103.4 \/ +4.2<\/td>\n<td>\u221299.3 \/ +7.9<\/td>\n<td>\u221289.5 \/ +8.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2. Near Side, 2nd floor<\/td>\n<td>1 km<\/td>\n<td>\u221278.6 \/ \u221215.1<\/td>\n<td>\u221298.5 \/ +2.3<\/td>\n<td>\u221293.4 \/ +5.6<\/td>\n<td>\u221288.2 \/ +1.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>3. Indoor \u2014 near side<\/td>\n<td>1 km<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<td>\u2212105.8 \/ \u22123.4<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4. Indoor \u2014 far side<\/td>\n<td>1 km<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<td>\u2212119.8 \/ \u221214.1<\/td>\n<td>\u2212109.9 \/ \u22129.1<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>5. Dense urban<\/td>\n<td>1.8 km<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<td>\u2212105.6 \/ \u22122.5<\/td>\n<td>\u221299.2 \/ +0.8<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>6. Near Side, 6th floor<\/td>\n<td>6.9 km<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<td>\u2212103.7 \/ +2.4<\/td>\n<td>\u2212102.5 \/ \u22122.2<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>7. Exterior \u2014 near side<\/td>\n<td>6.9 km<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<td>\u2212105.0 \/ \u22124.6<\/td>\n<td>\u2014 \/ \u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>8. Parking lot<\/td>\n<td>1.6 km<\/td>\n<td>\u221278.8 \/ \u221218.8<\/td>\n<td>\u221298.7 \/ +2.4<\/td>\n<td>\u221291.9 \/ +3.8<\/td>\n<td>\u221285.0 \/ +7.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9133\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/snr_comparison_0019.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1417\" height=\"691\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/snr_comparison_0019.png 1417w, https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/snr_comparison_0019-300x146.png 300w, https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/snr_comparison_0019-1024x499.png 1024w, https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/snr_comparison_0019-768x375.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1417px) 100vw, 1417px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9134\" src=\"http:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rssi_comparison_0019.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1417\" height=\"691\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rssi_comparison_0019.png 1417w, https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rssi_comparison_0019-300x146.png 300w, https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rssi_comparison_0019-1024x499.png 1024w, https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rssi_comparison_0019-768x375.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1417px) 100vw, 1417px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Key observations<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>169 MHz<\/strong>\u00a0theoretically provides the best obstacle penetration, but in practice it suffered from severe instability. Even when RSSI was strong (around \u221278 dBm), the SNR dropped to critical values (around \u221219 dB), often making demodulation unreliable. This is partly explained by the very large Fresnel zone (wavelength ~ 1.77 m), strong ground reflections, multipath fading, and reduced efficiency of the shortened end-node antennas.<\/li>\n<li><strong>433 MHz<\/strong>\u00a0proved to be a very efficient compromise. It successfully delivered packets in countryside scenarios up to 6.9 km from an elevated position, in dense urban areas, and partially even into indoor environments. It is a strong choice when long range needs to be combined with reasonable antenna size.<\/li>\n<li><strong>868 MHz<\/strong>\u00a0confirmed its role as the most universal choice for IoT deployments in Europe. It produced the most consistent results across the widest range of scenarios, including indoor penetration and the most challenging long-distance ground-level link in scenario 7, where all other bands failed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2400 MHz<\/strong>\u00a0exceeded expectations under line-of-sight conditions. Despite simulations predicting very limited coverage, the band reliably reached even 5.3 km in the countryside scenario and showed the highest received signal levels at the parking lot. However, it failed in all dense-urban and indoor scenarios \u2014 confirming high attenuation by obstacles and significant interference from Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networks sharing the same band.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>There is no single universally best band \u2014 the choice always depends on the deployment requirements (range, environment, antenna size, regulatory limits).<\/li>\n<li>For most European IoT applications,\u00a0<strong>868 MHz<\/strong>\u00a0remains the most universal and reliable choice, mainly thanks to its mature ecosystem and balanced propagation properties.<\/li>\n<li><strong>433 MHz<\/strong>\u00a0is a strong alternative for scenarios requiring longer range or better penetration, accepting larger antenna sizes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>169 MHz<\/strong> is suitable only for specific deployments with low building density and where the very long wavelength can be properly handled.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2400 MHz<\/strong> is best for short-to-medium range links with good line of sight and limited co-channel interference.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last updated:\u00a0April 30, 2026 This article provides\u00a0comparative measurements of 169, 433, 868 and 2400 MHz bands\u00a0available for short-range devices in the Czech Republic. The 433, 868 and 2400 MHz bands are measured using the LoRaWAN protocol, while the 169 MHz band is operated as a sole LoRa link in a Point-to-Point (P2P) topology, as it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9126","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9126"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9189,"href":"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9126\/revisions\/9189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lora.vsb.cz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}