Thread LR (Sub-GHz, Matter-LR)

[enzofrnt]

Hi,

Thread is based on IEEE 802.15.4, so in theory it should be able to operate on sub-GHz frequencies.
This could be a real game changer for the smart home ecosystem, especially to extend Thread networks across an entire house and even into the garden.

As we all know, the 2.4 GHz band is extremely crowded and congested, which often impacts reliability.
Sub-GHz, on the other hand, offers much better range and penetration, making it a strong candidate for more robust smart home deployments.

Z-Wave is a good real-world example: it is expensive, but also far more reliable than many 2.4 GHz devices I currently use at home.

Since Thread is one of the main transport protocols used by Matter, enabling Thread on sub-GHz (LR) would effectively bring long-range capabilities to Matter itself.
This would be a major step forward for the smart home ecosystem.
Long-range, low-power, and reliable communication feels necessary for the future of the smart home ecosystem.

Is anything planned in that direction?
Should we expect any announcements or hints, possibly at CES?

Thanks!

[jwhui]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Thread Group is responsible for updating and maintaining the Thread Specification. If you (or anyone reading this) are interested in advocating for new Thread protocol features, the most direct path is to get involved with the Thread Group.

[enzofrnt]

Do you have any recommendations on how to contact or get in touch with the Thread group in order to propose an improvement or offer a contribution?

[jwhui]

Thread Group is currently based on organizational membership. If you are affiliated with a company or academic institution, you can see about getting them to become a Thread Group member.

[enzofrnt]

And if not ?
It will not be possible to contribute as just a student ?

[EskoDijk]

For the purpose of driving a topic like sub-GHz, academic institution membership would only help by giving access to Thread member meetings, where one can advocate for the feature but not directly work on realizing it, in the committees (which requires higher membership level).

Apart from getting a job or internship at a Thread-involved team, open source is the only way to contribute. E.g. (help) prototyping a sub-GHz Thread platform implementation, or some study using the OTNS simulator which now supports any radio bitrates - e.g. to simulate sub-GHz PHYs with lower throughput like 100 kbps. A basic intro to the simulator is here: https://openthread.io/codelabs/openthread-network-simulator

[enzofrnt]

I will take a look. But honestly, is the Thread Group planning anything about sub-GHz, or is it completely out of scope?