MUNICIPAL IOT INFRASTRUCTURE
From Pilot to City-Scale: Montpellier’s LoRaWAN® Smart City Journey
The challenge
Montpellier wanted municipal teams to collect and use data across a metropolitan area while retaining control of the network infrastructure and the information it generated. The network also needed to remain reliable outdoors, support additional departments and applications over time, and avoid becoming constrained as device volumes and service requirements grew.
A one-size-fits-all approach to urban operations just won’t work as each city has unique requirements. Organizations behind successful smart city implementations recognize these differences and are committed to continued innovations in response to the variables.
The solution
In 2016, Montpellier began building a private LoRaWAN network with Synox, DataPrint and MultiTech. MultiTech Conduit IP67 gateways connected field sensors to Synox software used to manage devices, connectivity, data visualization and alerts. Coverage studies, field validation and cybersecurity reviews supported the initial equipment selection and deployment approach.
As adoption expanded, the metropolis moved from first-generation, 8-channel SX1301-based infrastructure toward second-generation, 16-channel SX1303-based gateways. The upgrade was designed to provide greater capacity, improve resilience and support a broader mix of uplink- and downlink-dependent applications on the same municipal network.
From a first deployment to shared city infrastructure
The initial network enabled proofs of concept such as smart parking and bicycle tracking. By 2024, the published project account reported 40 MultiTech Conduit IP67 gateways, more than 20 use cases and 15,000 connected objects across the territory. One of the first gateways installed in 2016 was also reported as still operational in 2024.
Why LoRaWAN
- Long-range, low-power connectivity suited to distributed municipal sensors.
- A private-network model that gives the metropolis control over coverage, infrastructure and data management.
- A standards-based ecosystem that supports multiple vendors, applications and city departments.
- A scalable foundation that can evolve as device volumes and service requirements increase.
LoRaWAN impact
Montpellier demonstrates how a municipal LoRaWAN deployment can progress from early experimentation to shared, long-lived urban infrastructure. The project combines network ownership, partner expertise and an upgrade path that allows new services to be added without replacing the overall connectivity model.
Technology and ecosystem
- MultiTech Conduit IP67 outdoor LoRaWAN gateways
Synox SoM2M IoT device and connectivity management - Synox SoDATA Viz data analysis and alerting
- DataPrint deployment and channel support
- Private LoRaWAN network serving municipal use cases
