Broadcom Announces New Turnkey LTE Platform Targeting the Growing Sub $300 Smartphone Market

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

News Highlights:

• Production-ready platform for Broadcom's dual-core M320 LTE SoC
• Pin-to-pin compatible with upcoming quad-core M340 LTE SoC to sample in 1H14
• Delivers 150Mbps Category 4 speeds on FDD-LTE and TD-LTE networks as well as 42Mbps 3G HSPA+ and 2G
• Validated on more than 40 networks and 20 countries for accelerated time to market

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140210/LA61782)

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today introduced a turnkey reference platform designed to help OEMs rapidly develop a portfolio of affordable 4G LTE mobile devices. This new platform is targeted at the rapidly growing sub $300 LTE smartphone market.  For more news, visit Broadcom's Newsroom.   

Broadcom's fifth generation turnkey platform supports Android KitKat and utilizes the company's pin-to-pin compatible dual-core M320 or upcoming quad-core M340 LTE SoC and best-in-class connectivity and location technology. With complete design reuse between dual-core and quad-core basebands, OEMs can develop multiple devices with the same platform design while lowering engineering costs and accelerating time to market. Certification by leading carriers worldwide and Category 4 (Cat 4) speeds in FDD-LTE and TD-LTE modes enable OEMs to deliver high-performance smartphones with seamless worldwide roaming capabilities.

LTE delivers a significantly enhanced browsing and streaming experience. In fact, LTE users consume 1.5GB of data per month on average – almost twice the average amount consumed by non-LTE users[1]. By offering a turnkey LTE design with 5G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, location and near field communication (NFC) technologies, Broadcom is enabling consumers around the world to experience faster browsing, shorter download times and more reliable video streaming at unprecedented price points.

"We project that the LTE baseband market will register about 64 percent year-on-year growth in 2014 to reach over 500 million units," said Sravan Kundojjala, Senior Analyst, Handset Component Technologies service at Strategy Analytics. "Broadcom is one of the only players with a mature carrier-ready multimode LTE SoC, the engineering expertise and the worldwide scale required to deploy complete LTE platforms.  The new Broadcom turnkey design will help accelerate the adoption of LTE worldwide and make high-performance, yet affordable devices available to the broader market."

"Broadcom's turnkey team achieved a design with a very low cost bill of material (RBOM) to enable handset companies to quickly and efficiently take Broadcom's LTE solutions to market," said Robert Rango, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Mobile and Wireless Group. "In addition, this turnkey design is flexible and allows OEMs to build a wide range of LTE handsets."

Additional Product Features

• Cat 4 150 Mbps LTE speeds in FDD-LTE and TD-LTE modes and up to 42 Mbps with DC-HSPA+ 3G as well as GSM/EDGE
• BCM2095 LTE RF transceiver enables FDD and TD LTE/3G/2G band support for worldwide roaming
• VoLTE and HD voice support
• HD display, imaging and graphics for an immersive consumer experience
• Pre-integrated with the Android KitKat operating system
• Reduces LTE modem power consumption by up to 30 percent for extended hours of use
• Broadcom's best-in-class connectivity - 5G WiFi, Bluetooth Smart, NFC and location technologies

Availability
Broadcom's M320 LTE SoC is in production now.

Broadcom will showcase its mobile innovations for Category 4 and Category 6 at the upcoming Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona, February 24-27.

For ongoing news, visit Broadcom's Newsroom, read the B-Connected Blog, or visit Facebook or Twitter. And to stay connected, subscribe to Broadcom's RSS Feed.

Resources:
[1] GSMA Intelligence report, Global LTE network forecasts and assumptions, 2013-2017, Nov 2013

About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a FORTUNE 500® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments.  With the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by connecting everything®.  For more information, go to www.broadcom.com.

Broadcom^®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, the Connecting everything logo and the 5G WiFi logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU.  Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Mobile & Wireless