“The push in recent cellular handset design has also been to combine as many radios as possible on a single chip. These multi-function combo integrated circuits (ICs) have gotten all the attention lately. But standalone ICs still have a very significant place in this market.”
Baseband and connectivity processors are the two components where single-chip ICs shine. Single-chip baseband processor ICs made up just 19% of all baseband processors shipped in 2009, but by 2015 that percentage will have grown to 47%, for a CAGR of more than 21%, according to ABI Research’s latest forecast.
Similarly standalone ICs for connectivity, while losing some ground to combination ICs over time, will still make up 59% of shipments in 2015.
“Partly the continued popularity of standalone IC is due to growth in the low-end handset market, where they are more common than Combo ICs,” notes Burden. “But the smartphone market too (particularly with the spectacular rise of Android-based devices) has a continuing need for standalone ICs in order to boost the performance of selected features, as a way of differentiating one’s product from the competition.”
Different sets of vendors stand to benefit from these sustained single-chip markets: for baseband processors these would include Infineon Technologies, ST-Ericsson, Qualcomm, and MediaTek. Connectivity chips are made by companies such as TI, CSR, and Broadcom.