Its a common mis-conception that LoRaWAN protocol = subscription to a public network. 
 
The LoRaWAN specification describes the protocol and network architecture, but there are no constraints on how it is deployed. Even the LoRa Alliance avoids dictating anything about business model. FLEXIBILITY is one of the key advantages of the LoRaWAN standard over competing LPWAN technologies.
A LoRaWAN network could be public or private, 1 gateway or 1000 gateways, the size of a building, a campus, a smart city, a county, country or even global !
 
The LoRa Alliance is full of contributing companies and most have a product or service they are promoting. There are network operators offering national networks with subscription, but there are also hardware/software/platform vendors providing everything needed to put together your own private network with off-the-shelf building blocks. You could even download the standard and build everything yourself from the ground up if you have the time and investment to do it, but for most time-to-market is the most important factor right now. 
 
So instead of looking for proprietary alternatives, it is recommended that a private LoRaWAN network deployment is the best alternative to the classic subscription model. The higher the adoption, the better the cost structure will become over time.  
 

IMHO there only two ways: use subscription and pay to public operators or become an operator yourself and optionally collect a payments from the public.
I noticed a trend last years: any services which possible are moved to subscription model. Most of new services are designed for subscription model, evidently or not. Any type of service which is developed by corporations is divided by provider network and user equipment.
An example from Internet equipment: more and more providers don't offer satic IP addresses by default. All mobile connections are "firewalled" by a proxy. Standard users are unable to connect their devices directly. They are forced to use payed services like a dynamic DNS and clouds.
The same trend applicable to LoRaWANs. To keep things in order there should be known stable operators. If any user will be able to create the network of such scale most likely the quality and reliability of operation become poor. That is why the corporations considering LoRaWAN subscription model as the best.

Obvious :) since everything gets cheaper, open source etc.
Subscription is the only way to get some money

an almost free option is to join https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/
 
Almost free because it depends on where you live... if you are in an not covered area you must consider purchase a gatway.
 
Alex

Hello,
I am new to this LoraWAN.
 
Do we have to connect to internet (TCPIP) in order to connect to LoraWAN?  Are they 2 separate networks?  What hardware and software are needed in order to set up a LoraWAN?
 
The last but not the least, what communication rule or law do we have to follow if a network is comprised of different networks from different countries?
 
Waiting for your opinion.

HKPhysicist
Do we have to connect to internet (TCPIP) in order to connect to LoraWAN?
Are they 2 separate networks?  

It's separate, i.e. NOT connected to the Internet, but that doesn't stop you from creating your own LoraWan, and accessing it via a Net connection.
 

What hardware and software are needed in order to set up a LoraWAN?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LPWAN

Hi,
You can build your own private LoRaWAN network and in this case you do not have to pay any subscription.
LoRaWAN nodes are clients from one / several LoRa gateways connected to a server. A simple PC can be the server.
You can find cheap gateways and do your own server
Regards
 

OK.  Thanks for all the replies.
 
It is a hot topic nowadays.
Do you think whether we can earn some big money from this wave of LPWAN?

Hi
At least some companies do think that there will be significant business with LoRaWAN :
https://www.lora-alliance.org/member-list
Regards
 

The big money is in the subscription fees