Camarillo semiconductor manufacturer Semtech announced a partnership with Comcast on Oct. 5 for the development of a trial low-power wide area network in Philadelphia and San Francisco this fall.

Semtech and Philadelphia-based internet provider, cable provider and media company Comcast said in a news release the trial will help accelerate the rollout of a much larger LoRa network in 30 major cities. To pay for the trial network, Semtech agreed to sell Comcast $30 million worth of common stock or about 1 million shares.

Semtech has big hopes for its LoRa technology, which requires little power but can connect things like light bulbs, sidewalks and street lamps to the Internet.

Comcast has big hope for technologies like LoRa that comprise the Internet of Things. The company said in a news release this is the latest of tens of billions of dollars spent building out a fiber optic Internet network in 20 of the nation’s 30 largest cities.

• Contact Philip Joens at pjoens@pacbiztimes.com.