LTE Chip Makers Find Opportunity in Growth - Electronics News

LTE Chip Makers Find Opportunity in Growth

Electronics News

March 4, 2010

While LTE will become the dominant 4G technology, its deployment will be gradual and protracted, according to market research firm In-Stat.

Nevertheless, 4G chipset manufacturers, such as Broadcom, Infineon and Qualcomm, have established LTE product development plans. In addition, market entrants, such as Altair Semiconductor, Beceem, BitWave, Comsys, Sequans and Wavesat, are hoping the shift to LTE opens new opportunity.

“Leading 3G baseband chipsets providers will not necessarily keep their leadership in LTE,” said Allen Nogee, In-Stat analyst. “The changes in platforms and technologies are disruptive enough to create major competitive shifts.”

In-Stat also found that by 2013, the total value of global end-use device silicon will exceed US$2 billion, but still be early in the growth cycle. Much of the success in silicon will be made in low-noise amplifiers, power amplification, analogue-to-digital conversion, SAW filters, and battery-life.

LTE RF solutions will have to have transceiver diversity because many different channel spectra will have to be supported. Most devices entering the LTE market will be dual-mode.