* One company likely to gain from rising interest in LoRanetworks is Semtech Corp (>> Semtech Corporation), which holds some of therelated intellectual property and makes most of its chips.Microchip Technology (>> Microchip Technology Inc.) has also made LoRa-related kits. * The most likely gainers from the spread of low powerconnectivity will be the companies building and managingthe networks. SigFox, a LoRa rival, allows others to make thehardware, and its partners to build the networks, butcharges companies fees for connecting their devices to thenetwork. "We'll see a tonne of SigFox and LoRa launches inAsia-Pacific over the next 12 months," says Charles Anderson,analyst at IDC. * More traditional telecoms firms are either adopting orcompeting (or both) with the new networks. Some have alignedthemselves with one or more of the technologies, rolling outLoRa networks in the hope of gaining a foothold ahead of theirrivals. They include KPN Telecom (>> KONINKLIJKE KPN) and SK Telecom (>> SK Telecom Co Ltd), which have rolled out nationwide in the Netherlandsand South Korea respectively. "The people who make the mostmoney will be those having a large network at the right price,"says Isaac Brown at Lux Research. * Other telcos are focusing on technologies that useexisting cellular networks and 4G standards. Vodafone (>> Vodafone Group plc),for example, is using NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things),while AT&T (>> AT&T Inc.) is using LTE-M (the M stands for machine). Bothare standards supported by the cellular specifications body3GPP. * Telecom equipment makers are aligning with one technologyor another. In part, this reflects a war over technologies,where Huawei [HWT.UL] and Ericsson (>> Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson), backed by NokiaNetworks and Intel (>> Intel Corporation), battled to have their proprietarystandards adopted. The NB-IOT compromise has prompted a rash oftrials: Huawei recently concluded a trial with Vodafone inAustralia, after similar tests with Deutsche Telekom (>> Deutsche Telekom AG)in Germany last year. Ericsson in June demonstrated its ownNB-IoT products, using Intel chips and China Mobile (>> China Mobile Ltd.)software. * ZTE (>> ZTE Corporation), meanwhile, is a high profile member ofthe LoRa Alliance, the industry body supporting the standard,officially joining the board in June. It launched someLoRa-based smart meters earlier this year. Other prominentalliance members include Cisco (>> Cisco Systems, Inc.) and IBM (>> International Business Machines Corp.).

(Compiled by Jeremy Wagstaff; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)