Broadcom, which is a company most people know for the chips they make that grants devices like Apple’s iPhone and Nintendo’s Wii the ability to connect to the internet, has just announced that they’re going to spend $3.7 billion on a company called Netlogic. You’ve never heard of them, and there’s a reason for that. Their stuff, which includes knowledge-based processors, multi-core embedded processors, and digital front-end processors, gets shoved inside stuff like ZTE’s T8000 operator grade router and various bits and bobs in NTT DoCoMo’s LTE network. It’s one thing to be an infrastructure geek and know about how cell networks works, the various standards that exist, the real debate on spectrum, etc., and another thing all together to know the components that make up said infrastructure gear. If you know about Netlogic, you fall in the latter category.
So why is this important then? Broadcom is putting themselves in a position where they can become the leading supplier of wireless equipment to both consumers and operators, which puts them at a distinct advantage since they’ll know how to best optimize each of those respective product categories to deliver optimal performance. Issues such as excessive signaling, failed hand offs, and network congestion, can now be tackled from both the consumer facing side and the infrastructure side. Very few companies can do that, the only two that spring to mind are ZTE and Huawei, who are both flooding the market with cheap Android smartphones while also selling advanced networks, often at a discount, to operators all over the world.
Does this news impact you in any way whatsoever? Today, nope, but in the future … your favorite handset maker might pick a Broadcom modem whereas before that purchase decision might have gone to Infineon (now Intel) or Qualcomm. In short, no, this doesn’t impact you in the slightest bit, but everyone else is covering the news, so we thought we’d chime in as well.