High-Power RFIC to pose high growth

SCOTTSDALE, USA: ABI Research's optimistic forecasts for the penetration of high-powered RF integrated circuits (RFICs) into the mobile wireless base station market have been borne out by the latest market developments.

According to research director Lance Wilson, "Compared to the discrete devices they can replace, high-power RFICs take up less circuit board space; they are easier to use; and they cost the same or slightly less."

This new breed of high-powered RFICs is primarily intended for use in base stations for cellular and other wireless infrastructure. Although the conventional wisdom suggested relatively modest and stable growth for these chips, for several years they have been taking an increasingly significant share of this market. ABI Research expects that the pace of this market adoption will only increase over time."

The rate of growth in shipment numbers is expected to level out slightly in 2011, but overall, between 2008 and 2013, revenue growth from this market will show a compound annual growth rate of six percent, which may seem modest but should be viewed as strong in an overall declining RF power device market for wireless infrastructure. By far the lion's share of these revenues will go to just three large vendors.