Communications is the largest application market for analog

23 August 2006 News

Databeans, a semiconductor market intelligence supplier, has just released its annual report on RF and analog chips used in wireless and wired markets. According to the report, the communications market is probably the single most important area of opportunity for the semiconductor industry; and communications is the largest application market for analog components.

There was a time when a statement similar to this was made in reference to the computer market, and while that market is still the largest for semiconductors, communications has been outperforming the rest of the field, in terms of revenue growth and it will continue to accelerate, according to the research group.

In the report, Databeans comments on several market trends that are driving the market, including an increasing bill of materials value for wireless mobile phones. Mobile phones constitute the largest application market for communications analog. It estimates that the $US content of silicon in phones dropped from around $45 down to $31 in the past five years, but is now on the advance again - which is good news for suppliers.

With mobile phone shipments at an all-time high this year, at just fewer than 1 billion units, Databeans expects the semiconductor market for communications to reach $65 bn this year, and reach over $112 bn by 2011. Silicon value in mobile devices is expected to increase from $32 to $42 over the same period.

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