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Broadcom
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Broadcom's customers are Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of technology products. Broadcom supplies these customers with semiconductors that are then used in the development and assembly of technology products such as broadband modems, computers, iPods, wireless routers, cell phones, and other wired and wireless communications devices. Broadcom's top twenty customers of 2006 by sales include Apple (AAPL), Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ), Motorola (MOT), Cisco Systems (CSCO), International Business Machines (IBM), Dell (DELL), Nintendo (NTDOY), Samsung, and Pioneer Companies (PONR). Of these, the top five customers accounted for 46.5% of revenue in 2006. This puts Broadcom at high risk were it to lose one of its top customers to a competitor. Broadcom has realized the importance of minimizing customer concentration, and although dependence on the top five customers is still relatively high, it has fallen considerably from 2004's 53%.
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Broadcom's latest 3G HSUPA BCM21551 chip is a bigger deal than its somewhat dry press release indicates. The all-in-one 3G chip is both cheaper and has a "very long battery life" when compared with current 3G chips, which have the problem of sucking your phone's battery faster than an unclogged shower drain. The new chip will be more like a drain after your wife's just washed her hair. In addition to having the potential of making it into the iPhone, the chip could mean many more phones—even dinky bargain bin ones—will make the jump to 3G. Which will then in turn make providers expand and improve their 3G coverage. [PRNewswire]
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Broadcom has unveiled BCM4325, a chip that supports WiFi, Bluetooth and FM radio. With the use of proprietary “InConcert” algorithms, the chip is able to address interference issues between Bluetooth and WiFi. Such problems normally happen in the past when radios operate in the same spectrum — both Bluetooth and WiFi tap the 2.4GHz band. The company claimed that the combined features would reduce active and idle power consumption by 40 percent and create 50 percent free space on the chip.
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"Thanks to Broadcom's inclusion of IPsec task offload support, our mutual customers will have even greater flexibility when implementing the IPsec features of Windows Vista and Windows Server(R) 2008," said Mike Schutz, Director of Security and Access Product Management at Microsoft. "By easing any potential performance tradeoffs, these latest NetXtreme security features will help further the adoption of such advanced Microsoft Windows security solutions as Server and Domain Isolation and Network Access Protection."
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Broadcom has been increasing its emphasis on sales to the mobile phone industry which has become one of the largest industries in the US. As cell phone penetration (the percentage of the population that owns a cell phone) topped 77% at the end of 2006, the standard technology in mobile phones is changing to third-generation or 3G technology. 3G is a superior type of wireless technology allowing for high-speed data transmission that enables mobile Internet-browsing, downloading, and media usage. Broadcom is one of the leading producers of 3G semiconductor solutions and as 3G technology becomes the new standard, Broadcom has the opportunity to win over new customers in the cell phone manufacturing industry. An example of such activity recently occurred as Verizon Communications (VZ) agreed to use Broadcom's 3G technology in its mobile phones. Broadcom ... has deals with Samsung and Motorola.
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Broadcom's wireless initiatives made significant advances during the quarter, specifically in Wireless LAN and Bluetooth™. In Wireless LAN, Broadcom started sampling the industry's first direct-conversion, all-CMOS two-chip solution for the IEEE 802.11b wireless networking standard. This product has recently secured design wins at leading industry equipment manufacturers. In Bluetooth, Broadcom and Palm Inc. agreed to collaborate in developing advanced Bluetooth solutions for next-generation handheld computers. This collaboration demonstrates the increasing importance for Personal Area Networks that allow for robust communication and data sharing among cell phones, PDAs, handheld computers, laptops, desktops, wireless printers, servers and Internet web sites. Broadcom has been developing products in the wireless area for over a year and continues to focus significant engineering resources on the design of wireless products and their integration into enterprise and home networks.
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