The Neighbour Problem: LoRaWAN and Cellular Networks Living Side-by-Side

Imagine you’re trying to have a quiet conversation in a room right next to a rock concert, separated by thin paper walls. Even though you’re in a different room, the sheer rock concert volume from next door makes it nearly impossible to hear anything. But here’s the twist: you also need to shout back to your friends across the street occasionally — and when you do, you’re disrupting the rock concert fanatics next door that really don’t like it.

This is exactly what happens when LoRaWAN gateways operating at 922–925 MHz are placed near cellular towers in Pakistan and across Asia.

In this article, we’ll explore why this “neighbour problem” happens, what technical challenges it creates, and what you can do to deploy your network safely and reliably.

Understanding the Neighbours

In Pakistan and most of Asia, cellular networks use what’s called Extended GSM 900 spectrum, E-GSM 900, which operates in two separate frequency bands:

• 880–915 MHz for uplink (mobile phones transmitting to base station tower)
• 925–960 MHz for downlink (base station tower transmitting to mobile phones)

Your LoRaWAN gateways work at 922–925 MHz – sandwiched right between these two massive cellular operations. Think of these as neighbours living in adjacent apartments with very thin walls, where both neighbours have their own activities that can interfere with each other.

So what happens when one of those neighbours gets too loud? Let’s look at the first challenge.

Problem #1: The “Loud Neighbour” Effect – Cellular Interfering with LoRaWAN

When the Cellular Tower Transmits

Cellular towers are incredibly powerful – they transmit at 20–80 watts (or even more) to reach mobile phones kilometers away. Even though they’re supposed to transmit in their designated downlink frequencies (925–960 MHz), they’re so powerful that their signal “spills over” into nearby frequencies. This is like sound bleeding through walls from an extremely loud sound system.

The cellular downlink at 925–960 MHz is literally 0–3 MHz away from your LoRaWAN gateway operating at 922–925 MHz. Even a tiny amount of spillover—perhaps just 0.001% of the cellular tower’s power—can completely drown out the much weaker LoRaWAN signals your gateway is trying to receive.

The “Sensitive Ears” Challenge

LoRaWAN gateways are designed to listen for extremely weak signals from sensors that might be 10–15 kilometres away, running on tiny batteries, and transmitting with just 25 milliwatts of power. They’re like trying to hear a whisper from across a football field.

The power difference is staggering: a cellular tower might transmit at 40,000 milliwatts (40 watts) while your gateway is trying to detect signals as weak as 0.000000001 milliwatts (one nanowatt). That’s a difference of 100 billion times.

When there’s interference from nearby cellular towers, it’s like trying to hear that distant whisper while someone stands right next to you with a megaphone. Your gateway’s receiver gets overwhelmed, desensitized, or completely desensitized by the adjacent cellular signals.

Without proper filtering, your LoRaWAN gateway will:

• Miss 50–90% of the sensor messages it should receive
• Create a “dead zone” where LoRaWAN devices simply can’t communicate
• Work perfectly in a lab but fail completely when deployed near cellular infrastructure

Now that we’ve seen how cellular signals can disrupt LoRaWAN, let’s flip the situation — what happens when LoRaWAN becomes the noisy neighbour?

Problem #2: The “Disruptive Neighbour” Effect – LoRaWAN Interfering with Cellular

Here’s the critical issue most people miss. When your LoRaWAN gateway transmits downlink messages back to the sensors at 922–925 MHz, you become the problem neighbour. You’re now radiating RF power that’s only 7–10 MHz away from where the cellular base station is trying to listen for mobile phone calls at 880–915 MHz.

The cellular base station has an incredibly sensitive receiver listening for weak mobile phone signals. Your LoRaWAN gateway, potentially mounted on the same rooftop or tower, suddenly starts transmitting at 922–925 MHz. Even though you’re in your own frequency band, poorly designed equipment will have out-of-band emissions that leak into the cellular uplink band.

Continue reading to learn why this scenario can be even more problematic — both technically and legally.

Why This Is Actually the Worse Problem

1. You’re Disrupting a Commercial Service
   You’re not just a victim of interference — you’re potentially disrupting a commercial cellular network that serves thousands or millions of paying customers.
2. Legal and Regulatory Consequences
   Cellular operators are licensed services with protected spectrum rights. They have the legal authority to demand your equipment be shut down if you’re causing interference.
3. The Power Dynamics Work Against You
   Cellular operators have far more resources, regulatory backing, and legal standing than a LoRaWAN deployment. The burden of proof is on you to demonstrate compliance.
4. Coordination Requirements
   In many jurisdictions, deploying RF equipment near cellular infrastructure requires prior coordination, certification, and documentation.

This means the risks extend far beyond signal loss — they can affect your project’s credibility and legality. So how can you stay compliant?

What “Collocation Requirements” Really Mean

This technical term means: if you want to place different radio equipment near each other without mutual interference, you need to follow specific engineering and regulatory rules.

For outdoor LoRaWAN gateways operating at 922–925 MHz near E-GSM 900 cellular infrastructure, collocation requirements address both problems: protection from cellular interference and protection of cellular networks.

Next, let’s look at what technical steps help prevent these issues.

Protection FROM Cellular Interference (Problem #1)

1. Proper Filtering on Receive
   • High-quality bandpass filters that block cellular downlink signals (925–960 MHz)
   • Cheap gateways often skip these filters to cut costs
2. Receiver Specifications
   • High dynamic range to handle strong adjacent-channel signals
   • Good selectivity and adequate IP3 (third-order intercept point)
   • Digital signal processing to reduce intermodulation and noise
3. Physical Separation
   • Adequate antenna spacing between LoRaWAN and cellular antennas
   • Mounting LoRaWAN antennas on opposite sides of structures
   • Vertical or horizontal separation to reduce coupling

Continue reading to explore how LoRaWAN transmissions can also impact cellular networks — and what safeguards are essential to prevent it.

Protection OF Cellular Networks (Problem #2 – The Critical One)

1. Extremely Clean LoRaWAN Transmitters
   • Steep filtering on the transmit side
   • Compliance with spectral mask requirements (–60 dBc or better)
   • Low phase noise and spurious emissions
2. Out-of-Band Emission Limits
   • Must meet regulatory requirements into the cellular uplink band (880–915 MHz)
   • Requires emissions to be 60–80 dB below the LoRaWAN signal level
3. Power Management
   • Controlled transmit power to avoid overloading nearby receivers
4. Shielding and Grounding
   • Proper metal shielding and solid electrical grounding
5. Compliance Testing and Certification
   • Pre-deployment spectrum analysis and certification
   • Documentation for regulatory authorities

Once these measures are in place, both systems can operate side-by-side without interference — but only if the gateway design truly supports it.

The Real-World Impact

Scenario 1: Using a Cheap, Non-Compliant Gateway
Immediate problems include missed messages and network dead zones. Within days, the cellular operator may detect increased noise, trace it to your device, and demand shutdown.

Scenario 2: Using Proper Collocation-Grade Equipment
A well-designed gateway can maintain reliable LoRaWAN performance while fully complying with regulations and protecting cellular operations.

It’s clear that proper engineering isn’t optional here — it’s essential for success. But where are these issues most common?

Countries Where This Two-Way Problem Exists

This challenge affects virtually all countries where both conditions exist:

1. E-GSM 900 cellular networks (880–915 MHz / 925–960 MHz)
2. LoRaWAN in the AS923 bands (920–928 MHz range)

Critical Interference Zones in Asia:
South Asia – Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan
Southeast Asia – Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei
Middle East – Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon
Central Asia – Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
Plus: Mongolia and many other Asian nations

If you’re planning a deployment in one of these regions, keep reading — the next sections explain how to prepare and what equipment to choose.

The Important Exception

India uses the IN865 band (865–867 MHz) for LoRaWAN, which is far enough from E-GSM 900 that it doesn’t face these severe collocation challenges. India made a smart choice that resulted in a much cleaner spectrum environment for LoRaWAN.

This example shows how regulatory alignment can directly improve network reliability.

Europe Too

Virtually all European countries use E-GSM 900, so they face identical challenges. This is why European standards (ETSI EN 300 220) include strict collocation requirements that professional LoRaWAN gateway manufacturers must meet.

In other words, this isn’t just an Asian issue — it’s a global one.

Why You Can’t Just Buy Cheap Gateways Off the Internet

Consumer-grade gateways are designed for clean spectrum environments with minimal interference.
Collocation-grade gateways, on the other hand, are engineered for:

• Operation in hostile RF environments
• Protection from and of cellular networks
• Compliance with emission limits
• Reliable performance in professional deployments

If reliability matters to your business, this distinction can make or break your IoT project.

What Proper Gateway Design Costs

The additional engineering required for collocation-grade gateways includes:

• High-performance filters
• Quality RF components
• Digital design with advanced techniques
• Proper shielding using machined or cast metal enclosures
• Testing and certification by accredited labs
• Experienced RF engineering expertise

This might add $250–500 to the cost of each gateway, but it is the difference between a reliable and legal network and one that risks failure or shutdown.

So what exactly should you verify before choosing a vendor? Let’s look at the checklist.

Compliance Box: What to Ask Your Vendor

Before purchasing or deploying LoRaWAN gateways near cellular infrastructure, make sure your vendor provides full transparency and compliance documentation. Ask for:

Requirement	What to Request
OOBE (Out-of-Band Emission) Reports	Proof that the gateway meets regional emission limits (e.g., ETSI, FCC, or local authority).
Blocking & Adjacent-Channel Selectivity Tests	Data showing the receiver can handle strong nearby GSM900 signals without desensitization.
IP3 & Intermodulation Tests	Verification that the gateway’s receiver and transmitter can resist distortion in mixed-signal environments.
Conducted & Radiated Test Summaries	Results from an accredited laboratory demonstrating performance under real RF conditions.
Certification of Collocation Compliance	Confirmation that the device has been tested for safe operation near licensed cellular infrastructure.

Professional-grade gateways include these reports as part of their technical documentation package — don’t hesitate to ask for them before deployment.

Now, let’s see how to ensure a smooth and compliant installation process.

Before You Deploy: Essential Checklist

A few essential steps can prevent costly interference issues and ensure reliable LoRaWAN operation in cellular-dense environments:

1. Validate Certification – Confirm your gateway meets collocation standards and has up-to-date emission reports.
2. Run a Spectrum Analysis – Measure signal activity at your installation site to identify GSM900 carriers and nearby transmitters.
3. Plan Antenna Separation – Keep physical distance (horizontal or vertical) between LoRaWAN and cellular antennas to minimize coupling.
4. Use Proper Filtering and Shielding – Apply high-quality RF filters and grounded metal enclosures to suppress unwanted emissions.
5. Coordinate with Cellular Operators – Notify or consult local operators when installing gateways near shared towers or rooftops.

Proper planning and verification protect both your IoT network and nearby licensed services, ensuring long-term reliability, compliance, and peace of mind.

Glossary 

OOBE (Out-of-Band Emissions): Unwanted radio signals emitted outside the device’s assigned frequency range.
dBc: Decibels relative to the carrier power, used to express how much weaker unwanted emissions are compared to the main signal.
Blocking: The receiver’s ability to maintain performance when strong signals exist nearby in frequency.
IP3 (Third-Order Intercept Point): A measure of how well a receiver or transmitter handles strong signals without distortion.
Intermod (Intermodulation): Spurious signals created when two or more frequencies mix inside nonlinear components.
Spectral Mask: A regulatory boundary defining how much a transmitter’s power may spread into adjacent frequencies.

When deploying LoRaWAN near cellular infrastructure, you’re not only ensuring reliable IoT performance — you’re also safeguarding critical public communication systems. Both goals depend on engineering discipline, proper filtering, and verified compliance.

By understanding the “neighbour problem” and applying these best practices, you can build networks that perform reliably, scale efficiently, and stay compliant everywhere they operate.