LoRaWAN in the Internet of Things: A Systematic Review of Network Architecture, Security, Business Models, and Real-World Deployments

Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) technology has emerged as a key solution in the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem due to its energy efficiency, wide reach, and low deployment cost. This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) based on Kitchenham's guidelines and aims to analyze the state of the art of LoRaWAN from four dimensions: architecture, business models, security, and real-world applications. Sixty-three indexed academic publications from 2017 to 2025 were examined, selected through a rigorous searching, filtering, and evaluation protocol. The results identify key trends, technical challenges, and research gaps, highlighting emerging solutions such as blockchain, edge computing, and artificial intelligence. This study offers a comprehensive view that can guide future research and development in urban and industrial IoT environments.