As far as I can tell the only reason such an insane result was possible is because the transmission was in clear air. Using LoRa in a city you'd be happy to get 10 km.
Yes, transmissions that have line of sight can go extremely far, mostly limited by the curvature of the Earth, which is why these records are typically broken using helium balloons. There have also been several interesting ground-to-ground records [1] [2]
The distances are of course much lower if there are obstacles (like concrete buildings) between the transmitter and receiver.
The distances are of course much lower if there are obstacles (like concrete buildings) between the transmitter and receiver.
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adhWIo-7gr4 [2]: https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/article/atmospheric-duct