Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., the business arm of Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM – Analyst Report), launched two processors, namely, Gobi 9×35 and WTR3925 RF transceiver chip for 4G LTE Advanced mobile broadband connectivity.
Both the processors support multiple bands of frequencies and also boost device performance by reducing power consumption and circuit board space.
The 20 nanometer Gob 9×35 chipset supports downstream speeds of up to 300 Mbps and facilitates other carriers to deploy up to 40 MHz wavelength or both LTE TDD and FDD. Moreover, it is compatible with the preceding telecom standards like DC-HSPA, EVDO Rev. B, CDMA 1x, GSM and TD-SCDMA. Samples of the processors will possibly be distributed to the customers in the beginning of 2014.
The popularity of Qualcomm chipsets is continuously gaining popularity. Most high-end smartphones like Sony Corp’.s (SNE – Snapshot Report) Sony Xperia Z and BlackBerry Limited’s (BBRY – Analyst Report) BlackBerry Z10 use Qualcomm chipsets. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 quad core processors will gain traction with increased deployment of 4GLTE technology across emerging nations like India and China.
World’s largest telecom operator, China Mobile Limited (CHL – Snapshot Report), targets to deploy nearly 200,000 TD-LTE base stations by the end of 2013. China Mobile has already chosen Snapdragon and Gobi-based LTE-TD smartphones, as it runs well on such home grown networks. This will create a huge growth opportunity for Qualcomm in the upcoming quarters.
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, Qualcomm shipped approximately 190 million CDMA-based MSM chipsets, up 35% year over year. This figure significantly surpassed the company’s guidance of a mid-point of 176 million. The company expects to ship 195–210 million MSM chipsets in the first quarter of fiscal 2014.
Currently, Qualcomm carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
