Broadcom is going to be shelling out about $316 million to acquire Beceem, which specializes in 4G chips. Yes folks, the 4G future in America is right around the corner.
Broadcom is a massive mobile phone chip maker and it provides a multitude of cellular chips. Beceem specializes in 4G chips and this includes WiMax and Long-Term Evolution. Broadcom said the deal will enable it to create the next generation of 4G chips at a lower cost.
“The combination of Beceem and Broadcom creates a leader in providing multimode wireless connectivity solutions to service providers and equipment manufacturers around the world,” said Scott Bibaud, Broadcom’s Executive Vice President & General Manager of the Mobile Platforms Group, in a prepared statement. “Beceem’s talented teams of engineers in India and the U.S. have been focused on enabling a 4G ecosystem of operators and equipment manufacturers to drive the deployment of 4G networks. We look forward to adding their innovative technologies to our product portfolio and providing these technologies to our customers.”
The Broadcom Beceem deal is expected to close by by March of next year and it is subject to regulatory approval. It will take time for the companies to integrate together but you can be sure that the next generation of mobile data networks is not too far away.
Sprint has been offering advanced data services via WiMax for the last year or so and this has been rapidly coming to multiple markets. The EVO and Epic are also capable of utilizing this faster mobile data network.
Verizon is making a big push with LTE and it plans to have its next-generation network in 39 cities by the end of the year. Look for capable smartphones and tablets by the first half of next year.
T-Mobile is jumping on the bandwagon and is saying its HSPA+ networks offers “4G speeds.” AT&T plans to deploy LTE in the middle of next year.
[Via Broadcom]