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Dec. 13, 2008

Qualcomm said that it will build a host of new multimode wireless chips beginning next year.

Cristiano Amon, v.p. of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies said a major variable for 2009’s product development will still be the fate of its own customers.

“We’re trying to understand as best as we can when will the market go forward with this... What is the state of the economy and its impact on wireless operators. Whether the volume is going to be better, the same, or different than 2008,” said Amon.

“On one hand, we have the economic situation of the U.S. which is very difficult to correlate. We also think that 3G technology in China could boost the CDMA-2000 ecosystem next year. We’re also hopeful that the Holiday season and the first quarter of next year will give us a little more visibility into what the outlook really is,” added Amon.

Overall, Qualcomm also sees 1x EV-DO still growing in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Southeast Asia.

"On the product front, we are moving forward with all of our R&D for China, specifically CDMA-2000. We are introducing a new suite of products. Qualcomm previously only had single-band, 800 MHz chips for its entry-level series, but now it will make multiband chips with 450 MHz and 700 MHz support to compete against GSM. Those are due out in the first quarter of 2009," said Amon.

There also will be a 3-G chip combining CDMA, LTE and UMTS. For LTE chips in general, Qualcomm is now in the silicon development stage and will move on next year to software development, prototyping and testing.

For the Americas, in August of 2009, Qualcomm will make a chip that combines multiband EV-DO Rev. A, EDGE and GSM/GPRS.

“As OEMs update their designs to new chips, every single wireless handset becomes a global roaming phone,” Amon said.

That chip doesn't yet have a name and will probably be announced at the 3G Americas show, said Amon.

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Source: Qualcomm.