Yeah, it's popular because it's a hack on the legal system. It's not the best system.

A hack, because of the power requirements it can legally operate in the unlicensed bands.

It is working and interesting however. There are even I think successes in "mission critical" use.

A long wire and a paddle can communicate across the world for example, lora can't touch that.

It's also a relatively cheap gadget, with proprietary transmitters that must be licensed from Semtech. And cheap electronic toys can sold, pitched, and enjoyed.

So I have a complicated relationship with LoRa. I can appreciate it's nerd factor, but at the same time, I recognize the cool software being built with it, but I do cringe a bit when people say that this proprietary modem is "freedom tech."

But you are reading this most likely on a proprietary computer from Intel, amd, or apple so maybe I'm being too harsh.