Qualcomm sees wireless device boom
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(InfoWorld) - A perfect storm is brewing in wireless communications, which may soon boom like the PC business did in the 1990s as the Web took off, a Qualcomm executive said Wednesday. Ubiquitous high-speed wireless data, mobile applications, and browsing ability will soon drive demand for 1GHz processors in handheld devices, said Sanjay Jha, executive vice president and group president of CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) technologies at Qualcomm, in San Diego. Speaking at Bank of America's annual investment conference in San Francisco, he compared today's wireless industry to the PC business when 64Kbps modems and the Netscape browser appeared in the mid-1990s. Those, too, helped drive demand for chips with 1GHz speeds and above, he said. Within a few years, wireless broadband of 300KbpsÂ to 600Kbps will be widely available and people on the go will demand more processing power in devices to take advantage of new services, he said. To fill this need, device makers will have to fill in the comparatively empty market space between notebook PCs on the high end and cell phones on the low end, Jha said. Particularly in less developed countries, notebooks won't work as the next step up from phones for mobile data, he said. Growing demand for processing power on mobile devices plays into Qualcomm's business plans. The pioneer of CDMA has aggressiveÂ plans for new siliconÂ to be introduced over the rest of this year and 2007. Manufacturers are already working with one Qualcomm chip set, the MSM (Mobile Station Modem) 7200, that has almost 1GHz of speed: The chipset includes both an ARM 11 chip of 400MHz to 500MHz and an ARM 9 running at about 250MHz, Jha said. That chipset will support HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access), a next-generation version of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) with a higher upstream speed, and will be able to handle VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) calls, he said. WiMax will help to change the game on mobile wireless as Intel integrates it into chip sets for notebook PCs, Jha said, though he downplayed the rival wide-area wireless technology. WiMax could become a good technology but needs work, Jha said, particularly in its support for voice and real-time applications. Flash-OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing), a rival to WiMax, has advantages because it was developed within a single company instead of by a committee, Jha said.Â Qualcomm acquiredÂ that company, Flarion Technologies, last year. In an interview following his presentation, Jha said Qualcomm is already talking with Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN), a group of mobile operators that last week demanded better licensing terms for network technology. Qualcomm has come under fire for its royalty practices. Jha said his company already meets the industry standard for fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing terms but NGMN wants something beyond that.
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(InfoWorld) - Qualcomm is making two acquisitions of Bluetooth and WLAN (wireless LAN) chip technologies, allowing it to further the integration of wireless networking capabilities in mobile phones. The company will buy Airgo Networks, which develops WLAN technologies used in access points and laptop computers, and it will buy most of the Bluetooth technology assets of RF Micro Devices. The acquisitions, announced Sunday, will allow Qualcomm to integrate the wireless technologies more tightly with chip sets that it sells to mobile phone makers. This should make it easier for phone makers to develop compact products with built-in Bluetooth and WLAN capabilities. Bluetooth allows phones to send data over short distances, connecting to a wireless headset or laptop computer, for example. Adding a WLAN connection to a phone allows it to connect to a LAN to use VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) and other services. The acquisitions will put Qualcomm in closer competition with other makers of wireless networking chips, including Intel and Broadcom. It could also bring Qualcomm new technology patents that would strengthen its hand in legal disputes. The company is in the midst of several patent disputes, including one with Broadcom that concerns Bluetooth technologies. Airgo, of Palo Alto, California, develops WLAN technologies based on IEEE 802.11a, b and g, as well as the proposed 802.11n standard. Qualcomm plans to integrate the technologies into its Mobile Station Modem and Snapdragon chip sets. It will also keep supporting Airgo's current WLAN business, it said. In the case of RF Micro, Qualcomm is buying its Bluetooth division in San Diego, which develops technologies for handsets and headsets. RF Micro is retaining other Bluetooth products, including its SiW3000 and SiW3500 system-on-chip families. It said the sale will allow it to focus on its higher-growth areas, including cellular transceivers and GPS components. RF Micro, which has headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, said Qualcomm is paying $39 million for its technologies. Qualcomm didn't disclose the value of the Airgo deal, but it said the acquisitions combined would reduce its earnings for the current fiscal year by about $0.04 per share. It expects to close both deals by the end of December.
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U.S. wireless technology firm and  chip supplier Qualcomm Inc.  is talking to potential  Chinese partners to prepare for the launch of third-generation  services, but its chief executive questioned on Tuesday the  market prospects for a homegrown standard Beijing is pushing.
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Qualcomm (Quote, Chart) is in talks to acquire a semiconductor design firm to help satisfy demand for its third-generation CDMA (define) wireless devices, the company said Thursday.
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RF Micro Devices Inc., which makes chips for cell phones and wireless networking devices, has agreed to sell its Bluetooth assets for $39 million in cash to Qualcomm Inc., the company announced early Monday.
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Qualcomm announced yesterday that Siemens Communications, the world&#39;s fourth largest maker of cell phones, has agreed to use its chips in some of its handsets.
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NEW YORK - If you build it, they will come... or so Qualcomm hopes. The wireless chip and technology vendor is betting that if it constructs a nationwide network to stream television over cell phones, cellular
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A group of major wireless operators, device and infrastructure vendors Tuesday released a proposed specification that the group claims will enable devices to seamlessly transition between cellular and wireless data networks.
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Form an orderly queue Qualcomm is to sink â¬100m into small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe. The company has pledged the investment via its venture capital arm Qualcomm Ventures. So which technologies might be best placed to grab a share of Qualcomm's big pie?â¦
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Wireless technology company Qualcomm  Inc. QCOM.O on Wednesday reported a higher quarterly profit  on growing global demand for cellular networks using its  technology.
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Three companies are set to use the backdrop of the 2008 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to debut a device that can use WiMAX technology to make calls.
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Decision may bring world of wireless peripherals to market.
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Growth is returning to the global wireless giant.
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Chip maker will being testing the emerging, high-speed wireless technology.
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Chip-maker Texas Instruments Inc. has ridden the wireless wave since the dawn of the cellular age, with its sales and profits growing along with the popularity of games, cameras and other fancy mobile phone features that require more computing horsepower.
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Proponents say the wireless networking technology is gaining momentum for its portability, wide range.
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Wireless technology company Qualcomm  Inc. QCOM.O on Wednesday reported a higher quarterly profit  on growing demand for its technology but its outlook for the  current quarter disappointed some investors.