LoRa is the physical layer under LoRaWAN: a modulation technique that encodes bits as frequency chirps sweeping across a channel. Because a receiver can pick those chirps out of noise, LoRa signals can be decoded well below the noise floor, which translates into a large link budget and kilometers of range from a transmitter that draws very little current.
The key parameter is the spreading factor: a higher value stretches each symbol, extending range and robustness at the cost of airtime and battery. LoRa by itself is just a point-to-point radio; it says nothing about addressing, security or network management. Products that need those use LoRaWAN or a proprietary protocol on top. The technology operates in sub-GHz ISM bands, which differ by region, so hardware is sold in regional variants.
Part of the IoT Glossary. Spotted an error or a missing term? Tell us.