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Normally we think about WiMAX and LTE as competitors. In terms of securing business contracts, that's certainly true.
But from the semiconductor perspective, they are, in fact, complementary.
Systems houses that manufacture everything from PCs to mobile phones like to have something as close to a unitary architecture for worldwide distribution because it's so much more cost effective. Customization and regionalization is best done in plastic.
So while some of us are arguing over the merits of WiMAX and LTE, smarter people in the IC business are working on dual-mode chips. Sequans is probably the leader in this but the business formula is no secret and, as they say, the race is already on.
There are a fair number of similarities between the technologies—particularly as LTE moves more toward the IP space. The most important is the OFDM signaling.
We've already seen announcements for dual-mode phones. Both Sprint and Motorola have thrown some PowerPoint slides together, which is a bit easier than designing a chip.
Another dual-mode opportunity will raise interest in software-defined radio. My take on this is that SDR is one of those technologies that will be adopted incrementally.
Companies with serious SDR credentials will do a lot of the work but in the meantime established players will nibble around the edges and employ what one might call SDR techniques. It's already happening.
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