Abstract
Long Term Evolution (LTE) deployments are growing quickly, with 166 carriers
in 62 countries now committed to using it. LTE provides the reduced latency,
increased peak bandwidth and greater network capacity required for the
advanced voice, data and video applications made possible by the latest
smartphones. HD video is only the latest in a stream of new applications that
is stretching 3G networks to the breaking point.
Mobile carriers need LTE to deliver high-quality services to smartphone users.
LTE is the leading 4G wireless network and is backward compatible with
existing solutions. LTE and LTE-Advanced will meet the long-term needs of
carriers and their customers for high-speed data traffic supporting Internet
browsing, voice and video.
Semiconductor components are key to the successful rollout of LTE networks
around the world. As LTE develops and LTE-Advanced is introduced, there is
pressure on semiconductor vendors to introduce devices supporting additional
frequency bands and a complex mix of networks, bandwidths and performance. To
meet these challenges, semiconductor vendors must develop flexible and highly
integrated devices that meet the performance criteria of carriers and deliver
cost-effective, power-efficient solutions.
The LTE semiconductor market is very competitive, with multiple vendors
developing application processors, baseband and radio frequency (RF) devices
for both base stations and user equipment. With LTE, we are seeing components
developed by existing application processor, mobile baseband and RF market
leaders; startups targeting the LTE market; and well-established companies
shifting from WiMax to LTE. There have also been several high-profile
acquisitions that have brought application processor and baseband developers
into one company, including ST-Ericsson, Renasas, Intel and Nvidia.
LTE Baseband, RF & Application Processors: A Heavy Reading Competitive
Analysis explores the opportunities and risks of feature distribution for
mobile network operators, analyzes the prospects for distribution of the
primary network elements that are deployed centrally in mobile networks today,
and examines the various factors that could accelerate or impede this trend.
The report also makes specific recommendations for how equipment vendors can
best position themselves to capitalize on the move toward distribution.
This report is based on interviews conducted with a wide range of LTE silicon
vendors in the four months leading up to July 2011, along with product and
volume information supplied by vendors. The tables presented in the report are
based on product documentation and supplemental data from our interviews and
email conversations. All of the data in product tables has been provided to
vendors for confirmation, feedback and updating ahead of publication.
In total, the report evaluates and analyzes the products and strategies of 30
leading vendors in this rapidly growing market, including more than 70
baseband, RF and application processors from these companies.
The excerpt below provides a summary of the leading PHY devices for LTE. These include devices that have been developed specifically for this application, along with general-purpose devices that have been enhanced to support 4G wireless networks including LTE. Throughput ranges from 100 Mbit/s downstream and 50 Mbit/s upstream (LTE Cat 3) to 1.2Mbit/s full duplex, supporting a 4-sector LTE-Advanced base station.
LTE PHY Device Summary
Source: Heavy Reading
LTE smartphones use the highest-performance application processors. The excerpt below lists the leading application processors that are suitable for LTE smartphones and tablets. The latest solutions from Qualcomm integrate application processor cores and LTE/3G modem. Several smartphone manufacturers, including Apple and Samsung, have their own application processors. Other vendors with mobile application processors include Marvell and Freescale.
LTE-Ready Application Processor Summary
Source: Heavy Reading
Report Scope and Structure
LTE Baseband, RF & Application Processors: A Heavy Reading Competitive
Analysis is structured as follows:
Section I is an introduction to the report, with complete report key findings.
Section II examines the dynamics of the LTE market, provides an overview of
LTE technology, introduces the plans for LTE-Advanced and covers three vendors
that will provide intellectual property to support the development of LTE
devices.
Section III focuses on base station solutions. This section covers 22 devices,
including LTE PHY devices, LTE MAC and control devices and integrated LTE base
station devices.
Section IV presents detailed product and strategy analysis for 10 vendors that
provide LTE PHY devices, LTE MAC and control devices and/or integrated LTE
base station devices.
Section V analyzes 31 baseband devices and application processors for LTE user
devices, including handsets, tablets and USB dongles.
Section VI presents detailed product and strategy analysis for 13 vendors that
supply baseband devices and application processors for LTE user devices.
Section VII analyzes 18 RF devices available for LTE and presents detailed
product and strategy analysis for six vendors that provide RF devices and are
not covered elsewhere.
LTE Baseband, RF & Application Processors: A Heavy Reading Competitive
Analysis is published in PDF format.
Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION & KEY FINDINGS
- 1.1. Key Findings
- 1.2. Report Scope & Structure
II. LTE MARKETS & TECHNOLOGY
- 2.1. Market Overview
- 2.2. LTE Technology Primer
- 2.3. LTE-Advanced
- 2.4. LTE IP Solutions
III. BASE STATION DEVICES & SOLUTIONS
- 3.1. LTE Base Station PHY Devices
- 3.2. LTE Base Station PHY Devices
- 3.3. LTE Base Station MAC & Control Devices
- 3.4. Integrated LTE Base Station Devices
IV. BASE STATION SILICON VENDORS
- 4.1. Cavium Inc
- 4.2. DesignArt Networks Ltd
- 4.3. Freescale Semiconductor Inc
- 4.4. LSl Corp
- 4.5. Mindspeed Technologies Inc
- 4.6. NetLogic Microsystems Inc
- 4.7. Octasic Inc
- 4.8. Picochip Ltd
- 4.9. PMC-Sierra Inc
- 4.10. Texas Instruments Inc
V. HANDSET&CPEDEVICES
- 5.1. LTE CPE & Handset Baseband Devices
- 5.2. LTE Ready Application Processors
VI. HANDSET & CPE SILICON VENDORS
- 6.1. Altair Semiconductor Ltd
- 6.2. Broadcom Corp
- 6.3. Cavium Inc
- 6.4. GCT Semiconductor Inc
- 6.5. lnnofidei Inc
- 6.6. Intel Corp
- 6.7. Marvell Technology Group Ltd
- 6.7. Nvidia Inc
- 6.8. Qualcomm Inc
- 6.9. Renesas Mobile
- 6.10. Sequans Communications
- 6.11. ST-Ericsson
- 6.12. Texas Instruments Inc
VII. RF CHIPS & VENDORS
- 7.1. Analog Devices Inc
- 7.2. Fujitsu Microelectronics America Inc
- 7.3. Genasic Design Systems Ltd
- 7.4. Lime Microsystems Ltd
- 7.5. Maxim Integrated Products Inc
- 7.6. Semtech Corp
APPENDIX A: ABOUT THE AUTHOR
APPENDIX B: LEGAL DISCLAIMER
LIST OF FIGURES:
SECTION I
SECTION II
- Figure 2.1: Worldwide LTE Subscribers
- Figure 2.2: 3GPP Release 8 User Equipment Categories
- Figure 2.3: LTE Radio Interface Architecture
- Figure 2.4: System Architecture Evolution (SAE)
- Figure 2.5: 3G/LTE System Architecture
SECTION III
- Figure 3.1: LTE Base Stations
- Figure 3.2: eNodeB
- Figure 3.3: LTE PHY Device Summary
- Figure 3.4: LTE PHY Device Features
- Figure 3.5: LTE MAC & Control Devices
- Figure 3.6: Integrated LTE Base Stations Device Summary
- Figure 3.7: Integrated LTE Device Features
SECTION IV
- Figure 4.1: Base Station Silicon Vendors
- Figure 4.2: Octeon II CN66XX Block Diagram
- Figure 4.3: DesignArt DAN3000 Family
- Figure 4.4: LSl ACP34xx Axxia Multicore Processor
- Figure 4.5: NetLogic XLP Multicore Processor
- Figure 4.6: Octasic 0CT2224W Block Diagram
- Figure 4.7: Picochip PC500 Block Diagram
SECTION V
- Figure 5.1: LTE Subscriber Unit
- Figure 5.2: LTE CPE & Handset Device Summary
- Figure 5.3: LTE CPE & Handset Device Features
- Figure 5.4: LTE Ready Application Processor Summary
- Figure 5.5: LTE Ready Application Processor Features
SECTION VI
- Figure 6.1: HandsetlCPE Silicon Vendors
SECTION VII
- Figure 7.1: LTE RF Device Applications
- Figure 7.2: LTE RF Device Summary
- Figure 7.3: LTE RF Device Details
