The Linley Group Releases First Report Exclusively Focused on Wireless Modem Silicon

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire - Jan 28, 2013) - The explosion in the use of smartphones is driving significant growth in wireless modem chips and has prompted The Linley Group to issue its first report exclusively focused on these devices. The Linley Group's new report, "A Guide to Wireless Modem Chips: First Edition," focuses on the cellular baseband and Wi-Fi markets, and closely examines two key technologies: thin modems and Wi-Fi combo chips.

"The need for anytime, anywhere access continues to drive growth in the wireless modem chip market," said Linley Gwennap, founder and principal analyst at The Linley Group. "We expect to see greater demand for Wi-Fi, and solutions that integrate multiple wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth, GPS and NFC, on a single chip. This report closely examines how these trends will impact the market in the coming years, and further extends our offering of reports covering the key semiconductor components used in mobile devices."

The cellular baseband market accounts for $20 billion in total revenue with 2.2 billion chips shipping in 2012. Of this amount, nearly 500 million were thin modems. In addition, suppliers shipped nearly one billion Wi-Fi combo chips.

The Linley Group identifies Qualcomm and Intel as the leading suppliers of cellular baseband chips. Qualcomm has led the market in its support of new cellular protocols, including LTE. The company has also integrated Wi-Fi and GPS into its baseband processors, giving it a strong competitive position in the wireless modem chip market.

The Linley Group believes that half of all handsets will ship with Wi-Fi by 2015, expanding the market for Wi-Fi combo chips. Today, Broadcom is the leading supplier in this market with 60 percent market share, and is well positioned for future growth with its strong Wi-Fi and GPS technology.

Availability
"A Guide to Wireless Modem Chips" is currently available directly from The Linley Group. For further details, including pricing and a list of tables, visit the web site at http://www.linleygroup.com/wireless

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.