LoRaWAN as the Foundation for Smart Cities: ZENNER at the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) 2026

The Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) will take place in Barcelona from 3 to 5 November 2026. It is one of the world’s leading events for smart cities and digital transformation. The focus is on innovative technologies and concepts for connected and sustainable urban development.

Smart cities and utility providers need connected infrastructure and reliable data to manage and monitor processes efficiently. Many municipal applications rely on information from decentralised devices and systems. The challenge is to connect these reliably while keeping maintenance requirements to a minimum. LoRaWAN and the Internet of Things (IoT) provide the right infrastructure for this.

At the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, ZENNER International GmbH & Co. KG will showcase how LoRaWAN can serve as the foundation for smart cities. The ZENNER team will be present at the LoRa Alliance stand.

One Infrastructure for Multiple Municipal Applications

LoRaWAN is particularly well suited to large-scale IoT applications. Its long range and low energy consumption enable battery-powered devices to operate for several years. As an open, interoperable wireless standard, LoRaWAN also allows devices from different manufacturers to be connected via the same network infrastructure.

Remote reading of water meters provides many cities and utility providers with an entry point into connected municipal infrastructure. Building on this foundation, further applications can be added, including water level monitoring, fill-level measurement in waste containers (Smart Waste), monitoring of parking spaces (Smart Parking), street lighting control (Smart Lighting), and the monitoring of environmental and weather data or energy consumption. This allows cities to expand their smart city infrastructure step by step on a shared foundation, rather than creating separate, disconnected technical solutions.

ZENNER: Experience with LoRaWAN in Municipal Applications

ZENNER has supported LoRaWAN since the technology’s early development stages and has been an active member of the LoRa Alliance since its early days. Through its involvement in the Alliance, the company contributes to the further development and adoption of the standard. With around twelve million LoRaWAN devices deployed worldwide, ZENNER has extensive experience in building and operating scalable IoT infrastructures. The portfolio includes metering devices and sensors, LoRaWAN gateways, network infrastructure, and the company’s own end-to-end solution, the B.One element suite, with its associated IoT platform and various applications.

More than 100 cities, municipalities and energy suppliers across Europe already rely on LoRaWAN solutions from ZENNER. Applications range from the digital collection and transmission of meter readings to municipal IoT projects. The technology can be adapted to a wide range of requirements, from rural communities and medium-sized towns to densely populated urban areas.

From Individual Applications to the Connected City

LoRaWAN goes far beyond traditional remote meter reading. Its combination of long range, low energy consumption and an open ecosystem provides a shared foundation for a wide range of digital applications. Crucially, municipalities do not have to implement every use case from the outset. Instead, they can expand their infrastructure as their needs evolve. ZENNER is a strong partner for this approach, combining more than 100 years of experience in metering technology with expertise in IoT and LoRaWAN. This enables the company to support municipal utilities, energy suppliers and local authorities in building connected infrastructures and integrating digital applications.

ZENNER currently operates one of the world’s largest LoRaWAN networks, with network availability in 15 countries. To date, the company has successfully implemented more than 450 smart city projects, making it one of the key drivers of LoRaWAN technology worldwide.

Meet the ZENNER team at SCEWC 2026 in Barcelona from 3 to 5 November at the LoRa Alliance stand, Hall 3, Stand B41.