The Linley Group Releases First Edition of Guide to Processors for Wireless Base Stations

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 21, 2012) - The Linley Group, the industry's leading source for independent technology analysis of semiconductors for networking, wireless and mobile, today released "A Guide to Processors for Wireless Base Stations, First Edition," which details the market and technology trends impacting base-station design. With the on-going popularity of smartphones, and the insatiable demand for bandwidth, operators are looking to upgrade their networks under tight budget constraints. Standard base-station processors have the potential to lower the cost of OEM equipment, while delivering the bandwidth needed to support emerging cellular standards like LTE and LTE Advanced.

"Bandwidth demand and on-going pricing pressures have given rise to a new type of application-specific standard product specifically targeted at base-station equipment," said Joseph Byrne, senior analyst with The Linley Group. "In just a few short years, the base-station processor market has grown to include more than a half-dozen suppliers, requiring a report that details the best processor and equipment architectures for satisfying the demands of the cellular industry. This report applies our trademark in-depth analysis to determine which processor designs have the most potential for success in the wireless base-station market, and which OEM equipment trends will have the biggest impact on processor and base-station design."

The report predicts a shift toward small cell deployment due to the ability of heterogeneous networks to now combine macrocells with numerous small cells. Comprising microcells, picocells and femtocells, small cells give operators a cost-effective way to increase network capacity without having to create new sites for macrocells, which have been the dominant base station to date. As a result, established processor and DSP suppliers will face increased competition from new entrants seeking to take advantage of the shift toward small cell solutions.

The report includes introductory chapters detailing the key trends in the base-station market, as well as the semiconductor technologies that most impact the design of wireless base-station processors. It then dedicates a chapter to each of the major players including Cavium, Freescale, Mindspeed, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. It also examines the offerings of additional players such as Broadcom, DesignArt Networks and Octasic.

"A Guide to Processors for Wireless Base Stations, First Edition," is currently available directly from The Linley Group. For further details, including pricing and table of contents, as well as a list of included figures and tables, visit the web site at http://www.linleygroup.com/wbs.

About The Linley Group
The Linley Group is the industry's leading source for independent technology analysis of semiconductors for networking, communications, mobile, and wireless applications. The company provides strategic consulting services, in-depth analytical reports, and Linley Tech events focused on advanced technology topics. The Linley Group is also the publisher of Microprocessor Report, the leading technical publication for unbiased analysis of high-performance processor technology. For insights on recent industry news, subscribe to the company's free email newsletters: Linley Wire, Linley on Mobile and Processor Watch.