Qualcomm tops TI in wireless IC rankings

For years, TI had been the world’s largest wireless IC vendor. But in 2007, Qualcomm outgrew the overall wireless semiconductor market, with its revenue in this segment rising by 24.1 percent, according to iSuppli (El Segundo, Calif.).

Qualcomm benefitted from strong demand for its EvDO and WCDMA/HSPA chips. In constrast, TI’s share declined to 16.7 percent in 2007, down from 19.4 percent in 2006, according to the firm. ’’Texas Instruments’ results were influenced by a confluence of events in 2007--especially occurrences in the market for high-end 3G semiconductors,’’ said Francis Sideco, an analyst for iSuppli.

’’The year 2007 brought a market slowdown in Western Europe, where Texas Instruments’ customers have a large presence. This, combined with Ericsson Mobile Platform’s rising use of STMicroelectronics parts in some of its 3G digital baseband platforms, conspired to diminish Texas Instruments’ market share in 2007,’’ Sideco said.

STMicroelectronics Inc. surged to the No.-3 ranking in 2007, up from fifth in 2006, due to a 14.4 percent rise in revenue, according to the rankings.

Infineon AG posted a 54.3 percent increase in revenue, allowing it to move to No. 4 in 2007, up from No. 8 in 2006.

In total, sales of semiconductors for wireless products rose at a faster pace than the overall chip market in 2007, according to iSuppli. The global wireless semiconductor market generated $29.5 billion in revenue in 2007, up 7.6 percent from $27.4 billion in 2006.

In contrast, the global market for all kinds of semiconductors grew by only 3.3 percent during the same period, according to the firm.