Semtech and Helium Announce New LoRaWAN Network Deployment Across the U.S.

Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ: SMTC), a leading supplier of high performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, is collaborating with Helium, operator of the world’s first peer-to-peer wireless network, to develop one of the largest LoRa-based networks in North America. The Helium network is now fully compatible with the LoRaWAN® protocol and available to the LoRa community of more than 8,000 active software developers.

 “We are excited to work with Semtech to integrate the LoRaWAN protocol into our LongFi architecture to extend the coverage of the Helium network,” said Amir Haleem, CEO and co-founder of Helium. “Combined with our technology and platform, this will provide new opportunities for LoRa developers to create entirely new IoT solutions for businesses and consumers.”

Helium Hotspot is a new type of hotspot hardware device that allows anyone to organize and maintain an IoT wireless network. Helium's own open source blockchain technology can incentivize the industry to deploy Helium Hotspots, while mining cryptocurrency, and providing hundreds of square miles of LoRaWAN network coverage.

Launched in Q4 2019, the Helium network is now available in over 745 cities across the United States, with key markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, and Austin.

“Large-scale deployment of LoRaWAN-based networks in the U.S. is becoming a reality as Helium puts Semtech’s LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN protocol to work,” said Marc Pegulu, Vice President of IoT at Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group. “Helium’s model is highly innovative, incentivizing users to build and manage a network, while also increasing stickiness to the open source architecture through the use of the LoRaWAN protocol, which is designed to support LoRa developers in changing the rules.”

Combining Semtech’s LoRa devices with Helium’s distributed, open-source approach creates a ubiquitous network that enables any manufacturer, developer or application to connect devices across the country using LoRaWAN-compatible technology. Since Helium Hotspots became available in the U.S. in October 2019, more than 4,300 have been sold to date, and the number continues to grow.