## 1 Introduction  
The fourth industrial revolution, combined with the rapid development of information and communication technologies, established a new scenario in which automation is no longer static and relies on equipment and systems connected to the internet. This brings efficiency to various processes, enabling the introduction of new technologies and strengthening the paradigm known as the Internet of Things (IoT). Some new scenarios are presented through emerging concepts, such as smart cities and smart campuses, with the IoT being strongly present in both [1]. Practically, the IoT enables the deployment of intelligent sensor networks that allow the automation of mobility systems [2, 3], better energy efficiency [4], rapid monitoring of health data [5], intelligent management of solid waste collection [6], etc., which are directly linked to the specificities and daily life of the scenarios in question. Currently, several wireless communication technologies can be applied to IoT systems and are grouped into short, medium, and high distances. The first depends on the data rate and coverage and can be based on Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) technologies, with the ability to serve users arranged in local short-distance networks [7]. The second wireless alternative is based on cellular networks, aimed at devices that require high data rates at a medium distance [8]. In this case, Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets) are composed of macro, micro, pico, and femtocells to provide indoor and outdoor coverage for users served by the [9] service. Finally, there is a category of wireless technologies for Long-Range (LoRa) networks and Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN), which offers communication over long distances and low power consumption at the expense of low data rate usage [10]. LPWANs can use the LoRa technology for communication. LoRa is a promising air interface alternative that operates at an unlicensed frequency range below 1 GHz. In addition, LoRa offers a long-range communication link with low power consumption and high reliability, and communication is established through the communication protocol LoRa Wide-Area Network (LoRaWAN), standardized by the LoRa Alliance [11]. Its topology is organized as a star and allows the retransmission of messages between the end devices and a central network through gateways that aggregate the data transmitted by the network [12]. Gateways are the elements responsible for providing communication between the end devices (end nodes) and the network server, which communicates with the application server, as shown in Figure 1. For such communication to occur, the gateways need to be strategically located in the scenario and in sufficient quantity to offer optimal coverage so that all sensors can be connected and transmit information in real time [12]. Several authors have investigated the technology from different points of view, including the communication LoRa [11], communication protocol [13], coverage radius [14; 15], intensity level [16], mobility [17; 18], channel modeling [19; 20], and gateway placement [21; 22]. In [11], the coverage of LoRa communication at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) was analyzed to assess the feasibility and reliability of real-time control and monitoring systems. The authors performed several tests by considering different distances, modulation settings, and packet sizes. However, no planning was carried out to determine the best location for installing the gateway, which is a necessary step to avoid errors, reduce costs, and optimize network deployment. In addition, only one gateway was used in the tests, which may not guarantee optimal coverage at specific locations. The study in [13] analyzed the LoRaWAN protocol based on architecture, battery life, network capacity, device classes, and security. The results demonstrated that LoRaWAN can provide coverage of 2-5 km in urban areas and up to 45 km in rural areas, reaching data rates of 290 bps and 50 kbps, respectively.