LoRaWAN LoRa and LR-FHSS: outdoor PDR and RSSI measurements

Overview:

This is the raw data of an outdoor coverage measurement campaign of an end-device implementing the novel LoRaWAN LR-FHSS mechanism. The measurements have been made implementing a complete network, which includes a gateway, end-device and network server all implementing the LoRaWAN LR-FHSS technology. We used the following equipment:

• Gateway: Kerlink iBTS Compact
• End-Device: LR1121DVK1TBKS
• Network Server: ChirpStack

The provided files are for uplink (ED to GW) transmissions without confirmation with different LoRa and LR-FHSS DR configurations (DR0, DR5, and DR8-11).

The configuration of the end-device is the following:

• FRM Payload Size: 1 byte
• Transmission Power: +14 dBm

This dataset is part of a published journal article: R. Sanchez-Vital, L. Casals, B. Jara-Ortínez, J. Bodvanski, R. Vidal, E. Garcia-Villegas, and C. Gomez, “Experimental Evaluation of LR-FHSS: A Comparison with LoRa,” Sensors, vol. 25, no. 23, Art. no. 7209, 2025, doi: 10.3390/s25237209.

The manuscript provides experimental Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR) measurements collected around the Castelldefels city surroundings. Apart from the data representation, the article also provides a path loss analysis and an open issues discussion.

Journal Article Abstract:

Long-Range Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (LR-FHSS) is the newest modulation in LoRaWAN, designed to overcome the scalability and coverage limits of conventional LoRa. This study provides a real-world evaluation of LR-FHSS performance, benchmarking it directly against LoRa. An outdoor campaign was conducted in urban and semi-urban scenarios in and near the city of Castelldefels using a complete LR-FHSS-enabled network and an end-device transmitting at LoRa and LR-FHSS data rates (DRs). Measurements were collected along four diverse paths, capturing key metrics such as Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR). The results clearly underline the advantages of LR-FHSS; while LoRa at DR0 and DR5 quickly lost connectivity beyond 1.5–2 km, LR-FHSS, particularly at DR8 and DR10, kept reliable links at 3–4 km. LR-FHSS robustness was most evident in non-line-of-sight (NLoS) and long-range scenarios. These findings highlight LR-FHSS as a strong candidate for future IoT deployments, offering extended range and higher robustness in challenging environments.

Data structure:

CSV file structure:

• RSSI_distance.csv -> DR,Distance(m),RSSI(dBm),Direction
• PDR_avgRSSI_distance.csv -> DR,Distance(m),PDR,Avg_RSSI(dBm),Direction

Data types:

• DR: Integer
• Distance: Integer (in meters)
• RSSI: Float (in dBm)
• PDR: Float (multiply by 100 to get the %)
• Direction: String