Cisco’s LoRaWAN Exit Could Signals Shift in IoT Market

Published on October 6, 2024

Cisco is exiting the LoRaWAN market, announcing end-of-availability and end-of-life dates for its LoRaWAN gateways and associated products, including 800 MHz and 900 MHz LoRaWAN Gateways, omni-directional antennas, and related software. The last day to order affected products will be January 1, 2025. All support will cease by December 31, 2029, while planned maintenance releases or software patches will end by December 31, 2026.

LoRaWAN likely isn’t profitable for Cisco, as its long range means fewer gateways are needed compared to Wi-Fi, and the market is highly competitive with many vendors offering LoRa sensors and hardware. The move is seen as part of Cisco’s cost-cutting and restructuring strategy, which includes laying off 5,600 employees (7% of its workforce) and focusing on AI and security.

Cisco’s exit from the LoRaWAN market is a significant blow, as it removes one of the biggest players from a growing space. Without Cisco, which had been pushing new LoRaWAN products as recently as last year, the market loses a major source of stability and trust. This could raise concerns about the long-term viability of LoRaWAN, especially given the competitive landscape and the absence of a clear migration path for Cisco’s customers. For an industry that is still expanding, losing such a key player might signal underlying challenges, such as profitability issues, that other companies in the sector could soon face.

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