Jul 2, 15:33
ST-NXP Wireless, a joint venture established by STMicroelectronics and NXP offering communications solutions, is said to be targeting white-box handset vendors in China. A low-cost solution for the company is already in sampling, according to industry sources.
Showing posts with label STMicroelectronics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STMicroelectronics. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Thursday, November 15, 2007
No conflict in handset chip market share and profitability: Q&A with STMicroelectronics COO Alain Dutheil
15 Nov, 2007
By strengthening ties with number-one handset vendor Nokia in 3G handset chip solutions in August 2007, STMicroelectronics raised eyebrows as the collaboration may allow the company to extend its influence in the handset chip market further in 2008. While some industry players say the race in the handset chip market for market share means a sacrifice in profitability, STMicroelectronics COO Alain Dutheil, however, thinks there is no conflict between the two.
Digitimes recently had the opportunity to talk with Dutheil about his company's partnership with Nokia as well as trends in the handset chip market.
Q: Having forged a collaboration with Nokia, what is STMicroelectronics' strategy for deploying handset solutions in the future? What will the trend in the global handset chip market be like?
A: There are four key points in this collaboration:
1, STMicroelectronics obtains 3G baseband intellectual property (IP) from Nokia;
2, we will inherit 180 employees from Nokia;
3, newly developed chips are not limited only to adoption by Nokia and;
4, we will be one of the baseband chip suppliers for Nokia in the future.
This collaboration enables us to speed up volume production and time-to-market schedule for 3G chips. By integrating chips for radio frequency (RF) transmission, multimedia content management, power management, Wi-Fi connection, RF identification (RFID), CMOS image sensor and micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) devices, we will continue introducing competitive 3G solutions in the future.
I believe demand growth for handsets in emerging regions will pick up noticeably in the future. And we also noticed that customers from these regions are having a stronger desire for mainstream and high-end handsets than entry-level and low-cost handsets. The penetration of 3G handset solutions in these regions will pick up faster. Once we are ready to meet this demand in terms of higher flexibility, extending applications and competitive cost structure, we will have a better opportunity to address their demands and have our sales grow in line with this demand trend.
Q: There is now a smaller number of handset chip suppliers, with IDMs and fabless companies evenly dominating the chip supply. How does STMicroelectronics see its own competitive edge and how are you going to face the challenges that stem from balancing market share and gross margins?
A: The two key directions for handset chip development will be functionality diversification and single chip solutions. The success of suppliers will judged by their ability to equip solutions with more functions with competitive technology strengths and speed up the time to market of related single chips.
As an IDM, we outperform competitors by offering a complete supply chain from design to backend production, as well as a broad IP portfolio. By having a stronger integration power and higher reliability with all components in the solutions being supplied by us on a competitive cost structure, we are definitely a popular handset supplier.
Every chip supplier has to persistently pursue more efficient productivity and better yields to bring a more competitive cost structure. They also have to bring innovative designs and technology. We therefore do not view the relationship of market share gain and gross margins as conflicting. When a chip supplier is capable of managing the mentioned principles well, it means they are not far from a win-win position.
By strengthening ties with number-one handset vendor Nokia in 3G handset chip solutions in August 2007, STMicroelectronics raised eyebrows as the collaboration may allow the company to extend its influence in the handset chip market further in 2008. While some industry players say the race in the handset chip market for market share means a sacrifice in profitability, STMicroelectronics COO Alain Dutheil, however, thinks there is no conflict between the two.
Digitimes recently had the opportunity to talk with Dutheil about his company's partnership with Nokia as well as trends in the handset chip market.
Q: Having forged a collaboration with Nokia, what is STMicroelectronics' strategy for deploying handset solutions in the future? What will the trend in the global handset chip market be like?
A: There are four key points in this collaboration:
1, STMicroelectronics obtains 3G baseband intellectual property (IP) from Nokia;
2, we will inherit 180 employees from Nokia;
3, newly developed chips are not limited only to adoption by Nokia and;
4, we will be one of the baseband chip suppliers for Nokia in the future.
This collaboration enables us to speed up volume production and time-to-market schedule for 3G chips. By integrating chips for radio frequency (RF) transmission, multimedia content management, power management, Wi-Fi connection, RF identification (RFID), CMOS image sensor and micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) devices, we will continue introducing competitive 3G solutions in the future.
I believe demand growth for handsets in emerging regions will pick up noticeably in the future. And we also noticed that customers from these regions are having a stronger desire for mainstream and high-end handsets than entry-level and low-cost handsets. The penetration of 3G handset solutions in these regions will pick up faster. Once we are ready to meet this demand in terms of higher flexibility, extending applications and competitive cost structure, we will have a better opportunity to address their demands and have our sales grow in line with this demand trend.
Q: There is now a smaller number of handset chip suppliers, with IDMs and fabless companies evenly dominating the chip supply. How does STMicroelectronics see its own competitive edge and how are you going to face the challenges that stem from balancing market share and gross margins?
A: The two key directions for handset chip development will be functionality diversification and single chip solutions. The success of suppliers will judged by their ability to equip solutions with more functions with competitive technology strengths and speed up the time to market of related single chips.
As an IDM, we outperform competitors by offering a complete supply chain from design to backend production, as well as a broad IP portfolio. By having a stronger integration power and higher reliability with all components in the solutions being supplied by us on a competitive cost structure, we are definitely a popular handset supplier.
Every chip supplier has to persistently pursue more efficient productivity and better yields to bring a more competitive cost structure. They also have to bring innovative designs and technology. We therefore do not view the relationship of market share gain and gross margins as conflicting. When a chip supplier is capable of managing the mentioned principles well, it means they are not far from a win-win position.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Qualcomm and Texas Instruments Solidify Lead in Wireless Chip Sales
26th October 2007
These figures consist of revenue from sales of application-specific semiconductors for wireless applications, including mobile handsets, wireless infrastructure equipment, wireless LANs and connectivity products.
With the global wireless semiconductor market expanding by 4 percent during the period, the two companies increased their market share. Qualcomm's share rose to 18.2 percent in the second quarter, up from 17.4 percent in the first quarter. Texas Instruments' share increased to 16.4 percent in the second quarter, up from 15.9 percent in the first quarter.
"Qualcomm retained the top spot in total wireless semiconductors for the second quarter in a row," said Francis Sideco, senior analyst, wireless communications, for iSuppli. "The company, so far, is weathering its recent legal challenges to capitalize on strong growth in sales of chips for WCDMA mobile handsets and semiconductors for wireless infrastructure equipment."
Meanwhile, Texas Instruments held its second-place position.
"Texas Instruments achieved strong growth in mobile-handset and cellular infrastructure chips in the second quarter, allowing it to outgrow the market," Sideco added. "The company gained market share in mobile-handset semiconductors for 2G mobile phones due to the ramp up of its LoCosto single-chip solution for Ultra Low-Cost Handsets (ULCHs) and entry-level phones."
While Qualcomm and Texas Instruments maintained their market dominance, NXP posted the strongest growth among the Top-5 wireless semiconductor suppliers in the second quarter. NXP's wireless semiconductor revenue rose to $438 million in the second quarter, up 16.2 percent from $377 million in the first quarter. The company increased its market share to 5.8 percent in the second quarter, up six-tenths of a percentage point from 5.2 percent in the first quarter. NXP benefited from strong sales of mobile handset baseband chips.
Qualcomm and Texas Instruments in the second quarter outpaced the wireless semiconductor market, boosting their share of global sales, according to iSuppli. In the second quarter, market-leader Qualcomm achieved wireless semiconductor revenue of US$1.37 billion, up 8.6 percent from $1.26 billion in the first quarter. No. 2 player Texas Instruments sold US$1.23 billion worth of wireless-oriented semiconductors, up 7 percent from US$1.15 billion in the first quarter.
These figures consist of revenue from sales of application-specific semiconductors for wireless applications, including mobile handsets, wireless infrastructure equipment, wireless LANs and connectivity products.
With the global wireless semiconductor market expanding by 4 percent during the period, the two companies increased their market share. Qualcomm's share rose to 18.2 percent in the second quarter, up from 17.4 percent in the first quarter. Texas Instruments' share increased to 16.4 percent in the second quarter, up from 15.9 percent in the first quarter.
"Qualcomm retained the top spot in total wireless semiconductors for the second quarter in a row," said Francis Sideco, senior analyst, wireless communications, for iSuppli. "The company, so far, is weathering its recent legal challenges to capitalize on strong growth in sales of chips for WCDMA mobile handsets and semiconductors for wireless infrastructure equipment."
Meanwhile, Texas Instruments held its second-place position.
"Texas Instruments achieved strong growth in mobile-handset and cellular infrastructure chips in the second quarter, allowing it to outgrow the market," Sideco added. "The company gained market share in mobile-handset semiconductors for 2G mobile phones due to the ramp up of its LoCosto single-chip solution for Ultra Low-Cost Handsets (ULCHs) and entry-level phones."
While Qualcomm and Texas Instruments maintained their market dominance, NXP posted the strongest growth among the Top-5 wireless semiconductor suppliers in the second quarter. NXP's wireless semiconductor revenue rose to $438 million in the second quarter, up 16.2 percent from $377 million in the first quarter. The company increased its market share to 5.8 percent in the second quarter, up six-tenths of a percentage point from 5.2 percent in the first quarter. NXP benefited from strong sales of mobile handset baseband chips.
iSuppli predicts global wireless semiconductor revenue will rise by 4.5 percent in 2007 to reach $56.1 billion, up from $53.7 billion in 2006.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Nokia and STMicroelectronics plan deeper ties in 3G technology development
ESPOO, FINLAND and GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, August 8, 2007 —Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) today announced their intention to deepen their collaboration on the licensing and supply of integrated circuit designs and modem technologies for 3G and its evolution. The two companies also are negotiating a plan relating to transferring a part of Nokia’s Integrated Circuit (IC) operations to STMicroelectronics.
http://www.st.com/stonline/press/news/year2007/c2547c.htm
http://www.st.com/stonline/press/news/year2007/c2547c.htm
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