Improving LoRa BER performance by increasing sampling rate

LoRaWAN technology allows IoT applications in long distances with small energy consumption. The physical layer of LoRaWAN, called LoRa, is a patented technology by Semtech, therefore, it is not open to the scientific community. As a consequence, with the exception of the Spreading Factor (SF) there is not much information regarding improvement of physical layer characteristics such as Bit Error Ratio (BER) or Signal to Noise Ratio. This paper describes important technical concepts from LoRa and creates a simulation model that shows the effect of increasing the sampling rate in BER performance. Additionally, the paper derives analytical expressions that support the simulation results. The results are useful for IoT researchers that can take advantage of larger sampling frequencies to improve the behavior of the LoRa system. Moreover, this knowledge may be useful for IoT applications where LoRaWAN devices need to transmit data in environmental conditions that can affect BER such as obstacles or interference.