Semtech Corp.’s long-range wireless platform is being used in Australia’s first low-power, wide-area network, the company announced Tuesday. Known as LoRa – an amalgam of “long” and “range” – the most significant function of Semtech’s wireless platform is enabling machine-to-machine communication within the so-called “Internet of Things,” or IoT. IoT has applications in smart homes, transportation monitoring and agriculture, but prior to the advent of LoRa required an impractical amount of power to transduce signals across more than a few miles. The Camarillo company announced its involvement in an effort to build a LoRa network in Launceston on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The undertaking is in collaboration with hardware provider Definium Technologies, the University of Tasmania and Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. It is being funded in part through a grant by the Tasmanian government valued at $100,000 Australian dollars, or about U.S. $76,000. “This ground-breaking project adds Australia to the list of forward-thinking countries developing smart network infrastructures based on the LoRa technology,” Marc Pegulu, vice president and general manager of Semtech’s wireless and sensing products group, said in a prepared statement. Upon completion, the network will be used by Launceston residents and local business to deploy IoT applications, he said. Semtech’s LoRa technology is also integrated into an IoT network serving more than half the population of New Zealand. Semtech stock (SMTC) rose 90 cents, or about 3 percent, Tuesday to close at $33.00 on the Nasdaq.
