QUALCOMM WIDENS LEAD IN CELLULAR RADIO CHIPS

Report says 4G LTE chip sales boost San Diego company’s market share

By Mike Freeman12:01 a.m.Oct. 8, 2013

Qualcomm corralled 63 percent market share in the second quarter for radio chips that connect wireless devices to cellular networks — far outpacing competitors worldwide, according to industry research firm Strategy Analytics.

The San Diego wireless giant’s market share grew from 50 percent for the same quarter a year ago, led by its radios for high-speed 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) devices.

Taiwan-based MediaTek ranked second for baseband radio revenue with 13 percent market share, followed by Intel with 7 percent.

While Qualcomm makes radios for 2G second generation and 3G third generation devices, it has a substantial technology lead over competitors in 4G LTE radios. Qualcomm is already producing its third generation of LTE chips, while competitors are only now releasing their first generation.
“The LTE baseband market is still waiting for a strong second-source supplier, and we believe that Intel, Broadcom, Ericsson, Marvell, MediaTek, Nvidia and Spreadtrum have the potential to step in and capture multi-mode LTE share in 2014,” said Christopher Taylor of Strategy Analytics. “However, these vendors have a difficult task ahead in challenging the current LTE market leader Qualcomm, which is moving swiftly with its highly integrated multi-mode LTE-Advanced chips.”
Multi-mode means the radios work on both 3G and 4G networks. This capability is critical to phone makers, since 4G LTE hasn’t been built out yet. So mobile phones must switch to 3G networks when 4G LTE isn’t available.
The total cellular radio processor market grew by a modest 5.4 percent to reach $4.4 billion, according to Strategy Analytics.
LTE radios and 3G radios using the technology standard of China’s largest mobile operator grew at triple-digit rates for unit shipments, Strategy Analytics reported. Shipments of radios using older 2G and 3G technologies declined.
Strategy Analytics tracks market share based on revenue. In terms of the number of chips shipped, Qualcomm still has the lead, said Taylor. But the gap between it and MediaTek isn’t as large. MediaTek sells radios used in many low-cost mobile phones sold in developing countries.
mike.freeman@utsandiego.com (760) 752-6751 Twitter: TechDiego
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