By Telecom
Lead Team: Chip major Qualcomm is commanding a market share of 30
percent in the $25 billion mobile device semiconductor market in 2011.

This is
despite mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the mobile device semiconductor
market in 2011. Though Qualcomm currently leads the way, many other
suppliers are increasing their capabilities and the competition between
suppliers will increase significantly over the coming years.

From Intel’s
acquisition of Infineon Technologies AG Wireless Solutions to NVIDIA’s purchase
of Icera, the mobile device semiconductor market has seen a lot of M&As.
Despite these activities, the market is likely to report 5.6 percent CAGR from
2010 to 2016, growing from $25 billion in 2010 to $35 billion in 2016.

Through
acquisitions and internal product developments, suppliers such as ST-Ericsson,
Broadcom, NVIDIA, Marvell, and Renesas are transitioning to a platform supplier
model.

Intel’s
purchase of Infineon’s wireless semiconductor business was a smart move for the
company, as Intel previously did not hold any significant share in the handset
market, despite attempts to break into it with its processors.

Its purchase
of Infineon’s wireless business, while giving Intel an instant foothold in the
market, also appears to be bearing fruit elsewhere. Intel’s newfound market
share in other areas of the handset IC market assisted in Intel’s recent
announcement that Motorola and Lenovo will release smartphones based on Intel
processors in 2012.

Most of the
major suppliers are spending considerable resources on improving their platform
solution capabilities. Through acquisitions and internal product developments,
suppliers such as ST-Ericsson, Broadcom, NVIDIA, Marvell, and Renesas are
transitioning to a platform supplier model. Although Qualcomm currently leads
the way, many other suppliers are increasing their capabilities and the
competition between suppliers will increase significantly over the coming
years,” Peter Cooney, practice director, semiconductors, ABI Research.

Recently,
ABI Research said
that the GSM, WCDMA, and LTE royalties on cellular phones will continue to grow
for the next few years, but are starting to flatten out. GSM handset
royalties are already playing a much less significant role for royalty
revenues, with GSM/WCDMA/LTE handset royalties becoming increasingly
significant.

editor@telecomlead.com