Three Major Cellular Baseband IC Vendors and Development in the RF Market and Their Patent Portfolios

Abstract: 

An RF (Radio Frequency) module is a key component used to receive and transmit radio signals. The unique design and manufacturing processes of RF modules have resulted in an oligopolistic market. However, an increasing number of leading baseband processor vendors has made inroads into the RF market. This report analyzes the market strategies of the top three vendors: Qualcomm, Huawei, and Samsung and explores their recent developments and their patent portfolios.

List Of Topics: 

Development of the global RF market and analyzes newcomers & rsquo; potential threats to traditional RF market

Three major baseband IC brands, Qualcomm, Huawei, and Samsung, and includes their development and motivation to expand reach to the RF market

List Of Companies:

Three major brands & rsquo; patent deployment strategies and includes their patent portfolios related to 

• RF
• Amkor
•  Apple
•  ASE
•  ASUS
•  AWSC
•  Broadcom
•  Chengdu HiWafer Technology
•  Cree Inc.
•  Dynax Semiconductor
•  Epcos
•  GCS Holding
•  Hisilicon
•  Huawei
•  II-VI Incorporated
•  IntelliEPI
•  IQE PLC
•  LG
•  LMOC
•  MediaTek
•  Mitsubishi
•  Motorola
•  Murata
•  NXP
•  Oppo
•  Qorvo
•  Qualcomm
•  RF360
•  RichWave
•  Samsung
•  Skyworks
•  SPIL
•  Sumitom
•  TDK
•  Visual Photonics Epitaxy
•  Wavetek
•  Win Semiconductor
•  Xiamen Sanan IC

Table of Contents 

1.Development of the Global RF Market 

1.2 Potential Threats to Traditional RF Vendors

2.Current RF Market Status and Leading Baseband IC Vendors & rsquo; Development

2.1 Market Development and Entry Motivation

2.1.1 Increase Sales with a Comprehensive Communications System Solutions

2.1.2 High Levels of RF Modularity to Enlarge Market Size

2.1.3 International Politics Forces Vendors to Expand Reach to the RF Market

2.2 Development of Leading Baseband IC Vendors

2.2.1 Qualcomm: Gains a Foothold with Early Entry

2.2.2 Huawei: US Ban Forces the Company to Focus on In-house Development

2.2.3 Samsung: Cuts into the Market from Base Stations

3.Leading Baseband IC Vendors & rsquo; Patent Portfolios

3.1 Distribution of Patents Published by Top Three Vendors

3.1.1 Samsung and Huawei Have Similar Deployment Strategies

3.1.2 Qualcomm Holds More PA Patents While Huawei Focuses on High-frequency Waveguide

3.1.3 Huawei has Highly Concentrated Patent Portfolios Compared to Qualcomm and Samsung

4 MIC Perspective

Appendix

List of Companies

List of Tables 

Table 1. Milestones of Qualcomm, Huawei, and Samsung in RF Front-end Solutions

List of Figures

Figure 1. III-V Compound Semiconductor Industry Chain

Figure 2. Division of Work across Wireless Communications System Industry Chain

Figure 3. Integration of Front-end Modules

Figure 4. Number of Patens Published by Qualcomm, Huawei, and Samsung between 2017 and 2019 

Figure 5. Distribution of Patents Published by Qualcomm, Huawei, and Samsung by Class