Telecom Lead America: Broadcom continues its leadership
in the wireless connectivity IC market, owning 30 percent share. Qualcomm’s
market share reached almost 20 percent due to its strength in the GPS market,
according to ABI Research.
Wireless connectivity ICs totaled more than $8 billion in
2011 and will produce revenues close to $40 billion for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC,
GPS, and combo ICs through 2016.
The overall market saw strong growth in 2011,” said
Peter Cooney, practice director, semiconductors. Attach rates for all
technologies are increasing, leading to combo IC growth. The next challenge for
IC vendors is integration into higher level SoCs.”
The continued success of Broadcom is attributed to its success in the
rapidly growing combo IC market. Qualcomm’s
market share reached almost 20 percent due to its strength in the GPS market.
CSR, with its acquisition of SiRF technologies, is still a major presence in
the worldwide market, despite losing its leading position in the Bluetooth
market many years ago.
Texas Instruments is in fourth position, narrowly
behind CSR with 10 percent share, and is another company benefiting from
entering the combo IC market early.
The market is being shaped by the ongoing mergers and
acquisitions. Qualcomm’s purchase of Atheros significantly improved its
wireless connectivity offering and it is in excellent position to control the
integrated platform SoC market it is developing to serve the burgeoning low to
mid-end smartphone and media tablet markets.
‘If Qualcomm’s S4 platform dominates this market with
integrated Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS, it is likely to be an increasing threat
to the other suppliers such as Broadcom, CSR, and TI,” according to Cooney.
Qualcomm Atheros unveils 802.11ac products to offer
Gigabit-capable Wi-Fi performance
Recently Qualcomm Atheros, a networking and connectivity
subsidiary of Qualcomm, launched its 802.11ac Wi-Fi products. 802.11ac
expands performance and coverage to enable HD video-grade connectivity across
crowded networks.
