Qualcomm, with its 50% share of the baseband processor and application processor markets and 86% share of the FDD-LTE modem market, is entering the LTE RF front-end market with a chip-set which works across all the 40 different frequency bands announced for 4G.
Shares in RF front end suppliers Skyworks Solutions, RF Micro Devices and Avago dipped on the news.
'Band fragmentation is the biggest obstacle to designing today's global LTE devices with 40 cellular radio bands worldwide,' says Qualcomm,adding that its RF360 chip-set enables, 'for the first time a single, global 4G LTE design for mobile devices.'
The RF360 supports all seven cellular modes - LTE-FDD, LTE-TDD, WCDMA, EV-DO,CDMA 1x, TD-SCDMA and GSM/EDGE.
Envelope power tracker
The RF front end solution includes the industry's first envelope power tracker for 3G/4G LTE mobile devices, a dynamic antenna matching tuner, an integrated power amplifier-antenna switch, and a 3D-RF packaging solution incorporating key front end components.
The RF360 solution is designed to reduce power consumption and improve radio performance while reducing the RF front end footprint inside of a smartphone by up to 50% compared to the current generation of devices.
Source:
http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2013/02/22/55625/mwc-qualcomm-goes-for-lte-rf-front-end.htm
