When an Outdoor Gateway Isn’t Meant for the Outdoors

Are your “outdoor loRaWAN gateways” really built for the outdoors—or just hoping to survive it?

It’s a question we’ve helped many customers answer—often after they’ve experienced unexpected failures in the field. The truth is that not all gateways marketed for outdoor use are truly designed to perform in harsh environments. When the wrong device is deployed, the result can be significant: dropped messages, maintenance headaches, and costly site visits to replace underperforming equipment.

What we’ve seen time and again is that the root of the issue isn’t the sensor data or the network—it’s that the gateway wasn’t engineered with real outdoor conditions in mind. From freezing temperatures and heavy rain to strong signal interference and changing weather, outdoor gateways must be built to handle it all without breaking down.

Note! In real-world tests, outdoor LoRaWAN® deployments achieved a packet success rate of 95.7%—compared to 99.95% indoors. Environmental interference outdoors can be up to 50x higher, causing significantly more packet loss (MDPI).

What Makes Outdoor IoT Deployments So Challenging

At first glance, deploying a LoRaWAN® gateway outdoors might seem as simple as mounting it on a pole and powering it up. But in practice, it’s far more complex. Outdoor conditions can be tougher than expected—and many deployments fail because they aren’t prepared for them.

Let’s break down the most common challenges that lead to failed or underperforming outdoor installations.

 1. Environmental conditions: Heat, Cold, Moisture, and Dust

Outdoor gateways deal with harsh weather—hot sun, freezing cold, rain, snow, and dust. Without the right protection, these conditions can damage the parts, cause rust, and make the device stop working.

• Presumption: “It’s labelled outdoor, so it must be waterproof and weather-hardened.”
• Reality: Many so-called “outdoor” gateways are built on indoor hardware platforms with minor adjustments, lacking true IP67/IP68 protection or industrial-grade components.
  Below is a perfect example of the LoRaWAN® Network Deployment in the icy conditions:

2. RF Interference in Urban Areas

Outdoor gateways in busy cities have to deal with a lot of signal interference from Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, and other equipment. Without good filters and shielding, they can miss messages or lose connection.

• Presumption: “LoRaWAN has a long-range, so signal strength won’t be an issue.”
• Reality: High RF noise can overwhelm the signal—like trying to whisper across a room during a rock concert. Without effective filters, your gateway can’t hear the message.

3. Antenna Design and Placement

A common mistake when using indoor designs outdoors is putting the lorawan antenna right on top of the gateway. This can let water in and weaken the signal.

• Presumption: “Built-in antennas are enough for outdoor coverage.”
• Reality: Professional outdoor deployments require external, properly mounted antennas—with drip loops and weather-resistant connectors to prevent water intrusion and signal degradation.

“Why Your Outdoor Radio’s Antenna Placement Matters” isn’t just a headline—it’s a key factor in network performance. Discover how proper placement can make or break your outdoor IoT deployment.

4. Power and Connectivity Constraints

Remote outdoor sites often lack reliable power or Ethernet. Gateways need to support flexible power options—battery, solar, or PoE—without compromising performance.

• Presumption: “We’ll figure out power on-site.”
• Reality: Poor power planning leads to inconsistent uptime and field maintenance headaches. Outdoor gateways need power efficiency and remote management built-in.

5. Network coverage requirements

One of the most overlooked factors in outdoor deployments is strategic planning for coverage. The number of gateways and their placement must align with the physical layout, device density, and environmental conditions of the site. Without a proper site survey, you risk dead zones, overlapping coverage, or excessive interference.

• Presumption: “We’ll just install a few gateways and see how it goes.”
• Reality: Without upfront planning, coverage holes and performance bottlenecks are almost guaranteed. Outdoor deployments demand detailed site surveys and RF planning to ensure strong, consistent connectivity across the full area.

All of the listed challenges aren’t theoretical—they show up in real-world deployments every day.

That’s why, at TEKTELIC, we don’t adjust indoor hardware for the outdoors. We engineer outdoor LoRaWAN® gateways from the ground up—built to last, perform, and scale in the environments where you need them most.

5 Signs Your Gateway Isn’t Really Outdoor-Ready Configuration

Not all “outdoor” gateways are created equal. From the outside, they seem built for the field. But inside, they’re better suited to an office than a mountaintop.

Here are five telltale signs your gateway wasn’t truly built for the outdoors:

1. Plastic housing or exposed antennas on top – A common legacy from Wi-Fi hardware designs, plastic enclosures and top-mounted antennas offer minimal protection against the elements. UV rays, rain, and snow quickly degrade these materials and compromise the internal electronics. And when antennas are mounted on top, water has a direct path into the unit.
2. No drip loop in antenna design – If the antenna cable runs straight into the gateway without a downward loop, it’s a red flag. In telecom-grade designs, you’ll always see a drip loop—where the cable dips below the connection point. This simple design ensures that rainwater drips off the cable rather than travelling down into the connector.
3. Lack of EMI Shielding or RF Filtering – Outdoor urban deployments are noisy. From cellular towers to industrial equipment, the RF environment can be hostile. Without proper EMI shielding and RF filters, your gateway might struggle to receive signals clearly—resulting in dropped packets and unreliable network performance.
4. Inadequate Environmental Ratings – IP ratings matter. An IP65 label might sound sufficient, but it only protects against splashes but not being underwater. Over the lifetime of a device, heavy rain, flooding, or even snow melt can challenge its resilience. For outdoor deployments that are expected to last 10+ years, IP67 is non-negotiable.
5. Narrow Temperature Operating Range – A true outdoor gateway must survive burning summers, freezing winters, and everything in between. Yet many gateways fail to list their operating temperature range—or list only a commercial-grade spec (e.g., 0°C to 40°C). That’s not going to cut it on a rooftop at -30°C or +70°C.

If you’re seeing any of these five signs, it’s a clear indication the gateway isn’t ready for long-term outdoor use. And while it may function initially, the long-term costs of maintenance, downtime, and network failure can far exceed the upfront hardware savings.

How to choose the right outdoor gateway

Now that we’ve outlined the red flags of gateways that aren’t truly outdoor-ready let’s take a closer look and talk about what to look for instead. Whether you’re planning your first LoRaWAN® deployment or expanding into more rugged environments, choosing the right outdoor gateway is a critical decision that impacts long-term performance, maintenance costs, and network reliability.

To make your choose easier, we’ve outlined the core considerations in the “Outdoor Gateway Selection Check List” below.

Checklist	Red Flags to Watch	What You Should See	Solution
Environmental Protection	Plastic enclosures, top-mounted antennas, no IP rating listed	IP67 or IP68 rating, sealed metal housing, drip loop support	KONA Macro & Mega Gateways  IP68-rated metal housing with drip loop-ready design
Temperature Endurance	0°C to 40°C range or not specified at all	-40°C to +70°C operation, industrial-grade components	All TEKTELIC outdoor gateways rated from -40°C to +70°C for extreme climates
RF Interference Handling	No mention of filters or shielding, internal antennas only	Built-in RF filters, high sensitivity, EMI shielding, external antennas	KONA Mega built-in high-performance RF filters, EMI shielding, and external antenna support
Power Flexibility	Single power input, and no solar or backup options	Supports PoE, DC input, solar/battery setups	All TEKTELIC outdoor gateways support PoE and are solar-ready with low power consumption
Reliability & Maintenance	Active cooling (fans), no OTA updates or diagnostics	10+ year design life, passive cooling, remote management tools	Designed for 10+ year lifecycle, passive cooling, and remote management via Tektelic platform
Deployment Scalability	Limited connectivity options, lacks interoperability with network servers	LoRaWAN® certified, multi-backhaul (LTE/Ethernet), scalable architecture	Fully LoRaWAN® compliant, LTE/Ethernet backhaul, seamless scalability across all models

Top Gateways for Outdoor LoRaWAN Network

When it comes to building reliable and scalable outdoor LoRaWAN® networks, the hardware you choose matters. At TEKTELIC, every outdoor gateway is engineered from the ground up to perform in harsh environments—whether it’s extreme weather, remote locations, or dense urban RF conditions.

Here are the top TEKTELIC gateways purpose-built for outdoor deployments.

1. KONA Photon Gateway

Best for: Remote sites, solar-powered, or infrastructure-limited locations
Why it stands out:

• Fully integrated solar power system with built-in battery backup
• IP67 outdoor-rated compact form factor
• Ideal for deploying where grid power isn’t available
• Quick setup for rural IoT coverage or environmental monitoring.

The Photon excels where power is a constraint—but coverage still matters.

2. KONA Macro IoT Gateway

Best for: City-wide coverage, municipal infrastructure, and dense deployments
Why it stands out:

• IP67 waterproof enclosure for extreme weather
• Integrated GPS and 3G/4G Antenna
• High-capacity LoRa® channel plan support
• Built-in GPS, LTE, and Ethernet backhaul
• Advanced filtering for urban RF environments.

This is the go-to solution for dense urban coverage and large-scale sensor networks.

3. KONA Macro EX Gateway

Best for: Hazardous environments, oil & gas, and industrial outdoor zones
Why it stands out:

• Same robust features as the standard KONA Macro, but with сustom TEKTELIC ATEX Zone 1 (Div 1) Design
• Explosion-proof housing for flammable or volatile areas
• Designed to meet industrial safety and compliance standards.
  The KONA Macro EX brings TEKTELIC’s outdoor reliability into the most demanding and regulated environments.

4. KONA Mega IoT Gateway

Best for: Nationwide or regional rollouts, critical infrastructure
Why it stands out:

• Carrier-grade, high-redundancy platform with multiple backhaul options
• Superior RF filtering and ultra-high receiver sensitivity
• Advanced networking features for high-density device environments.

Passive cooling system with zero moving parts for long-term maintenance-free operation.
The KONA Mega is engineered for operators that need bulletproof reliability and advanced performance at scale.

5. KONA Mega EX Gateway

Best for: Large-scale deployments in hazardous, regulated industrial areas
Why it stands out:

• ATEX Zone 2 and 22 Certified
• All features of the standard KONA Mega, with added explosion protection
• Built for mission-critical deployments in hazardous environments
  A reliable option for safety-regulated outdoor sites.

Use Case	Recommended Gateway
Smart cities & dense urban zones	KONA Macro or KONA Mega
Hazardous industrial environments	KONA Macro EX or KONA Mega EX
Remote/off-grid rural deployments	KONA Photon
National-scale public infrastructure	KONA Mega

Our gateways are built to operate for 10+ years in the field, with passive cooling, advanced diagnostics, and unmatched RF filtering. Whether your priority is urban scalability, remote independence, or safety compliance—there’s a TEKTELIC gateway built for it.

When it comes to building reliable and scalable outdoor LoRaWAN® networks, the hardware you choose matters.

With TEKTELIC, you’re not just choosing a lorawan gateway — you’re choosing the industry’s most trusted end-to-end IoT solutions provider, delivering everything from rugged devices to carrier-grade infrastructure and cloud integration.

Real-world use case examples

1. Building a Nationwide LoRaWAN® Network That Works Outdoors

When it comes to testing outdoor LoRaWAN® gateway performance at scale, few deployments match the complexity and demands of a nationwide carrier-grade network. One of the most prominent examples is TEKTELIC’s collaboration in delivering a nationwide LoRaWAN® network across the United States – a massive infrastructure rollout designed to support millions of connected devices across diverse geographies.

The Challenge

To cover an entire country, the network had to support:

• Wide geographic diversity—from urban high-rises to remote agricultural fields
• Extreme environmental conditions—snow, heat, rain, and high RF noise
• Minimal downtime—service-level expectations from public operators and enterprise clients
• Scalability and long-range coverage—with high device density and overlapping RF zones.

Traditional indoor-adapted gateways simply wouldn’t last—or perform—under these conditions.

The Solution

Deployment of TEKTELIC KONA Macro, KONA Mega, and KONA Enterprise gateways with IP68 protection, industrial-grade components, and carrier-grade performance.

• Results:
• Reliable operation in extreme heat, cold, and high-RF environments
• 10+ year lifecycle with passive cooling (no maintenance required)
• Scalable nationwide coverage with minimal downtime.

Why It Matters

This project underscores a critical lesson for anyone deploying LoRaWAN® outdoors: scale amplifies weakness. If your gateway isn’t built to last in tough environments, failure isn’t just possible—it’s inevitable.

In a network of this size iot applications, every failure means a costly site visit, potential service disruptions, and loss of customer trust. That’s why every gateway deployed had to be outdoor-ready by design, not just by label.

2. Managing Remote Oil & Gas Facilities with Reliable Outdoor Connectivity

Harsh, hazardous, and remote—these three words describe many oil and gas industrial iot facilities. When IoT data becomes essential for operations and safety, any connectivity failure in connectivity isn’t just inconvenient—it’s a risk.

The Challenge

An oil and gas operator needed to monitor equipment performance, environmental conditions, and worker safety across remote well sites with:

• No reliable power infrastructure
• Explosive environments requiring ATEX-compliant equipment
• Extreme weather conditions, including heat, dust, and heavy rains
• Minimal access for maintenance due to site remoteness.

Traditional gateways designed for light industrial or urban use would have failed in weeks.

The Solution

The customer deployed a tailored LoRaWAN® solution with compact TEKTELIC’s KONA Macro and partner’s LoRaWAN sensors, offering:

• IP67-rated protection to withstand dust, rain, heat, and cold
• High-reliability RF performance in challenging remote and industrial areas
• Scalable architecture to support expanding deployments
• Low power design for energy-efficient operation in the field.

3. Outdoor Gateways Power Smart Lighting in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Smart city projects are only as strong as the connectivity infrastructure behind them. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a pioneering municipality wanted to modernize its public street lighting system to reduce energy consumption and improve operational control—all without digging up roads or relying on cellular connections that add recurring costs.

The Challenge

The city faced several familiar urban infrastructure hurdles:

• Aging lighting infrastructure not built for connectivity
• Wide geographic areas with varying signal penetration needs
• Cold winters and humid weather demanding resilient outdoor hardware
• Limited access to stable power sources for new equipment.

To enable real-time control, dimming, and remote monitoring of light poles across the municipality, the network had to function outdoors, reliably, year-round.

The Solution

The city deployed a LoRaWAN®-based smart lighting solution powered by TEKTELIC’s KONA Macro outdoor gateway. Here’s what made it work:

• Macro-level coverage: Just a few TEKTELIC gateways provided wide-area connectivity across dozens of streets and hundreds of light fixtures.
• Rugged outdoor design: With an IP67-rated enclosure and support for -40°C to +60°C temperatures, the KONA Macro performed flawlessly through seasonal changes, snow, and humidity.
• Low power consumption: The gateway supported low-energy endpoints, making the overall lighting solution more energy efficient.
• Cost-effective backhaul: Unlike cellular options, the LoRaWAN® network eliminated SIM card fees and reduced long-term operational expenses.

With the addition of smart controllers at each light point, the city gained remote visibility, automated scheduling, and the ability to dynamically dim or brighten lights based on time of day or real-time needs.

Why It Matters

This deployment shows that public infrastructure modernization doesn’t require massive overhauls—just the right technology choices. A rugged, scalable, outdoor-ready gateway like the KONA Macro makes it possible to retrofit legacy systems with intelligent control, all while minimizing disruption and long-term cost.

Whether you’re deploying in remote oil fields or scaling smart cities, TEKTELIC’s experts are ready to guide you through every step of your outdoor LoRaWAN® journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key components of a LoRaWAN® project?

In a LoRaWAN® project, the key components include LoRaWAN® gateways, sensors or devices, LoRaWAN® network servers , and application servers. The gateways act as the bridge between the sensors and the network, while the servers manage the data and applications.

How many devices can a single LoRaWAN® gateway typically handle?

A single LoRaWAN® gateway can typically handle hundreds to thousands of devices, depending on factors such as network traffic, data rate, and distance between products and the gateway. It’s important to consider these factors when planning the scalability of a LoRaWAN® project.

What factors influence the number of LoRaWAN® gateways needed for a project?

The number of LoRaWAN® gateways needed for a project is influenced by factors such as the geographic area to be covered, the density of devices, the desired network coverage, and the reliability requirements. It’s important to conduct a site survey and things network analysis to determine the optimal placement and number of gateways for a successful project implementation.