IRVINE, Calif.—Chip-maker Broadcom Corp. is crowing that its W-CDMA baseband chip is shipping in Panasonic’s new 3G handset for Japanese operator SoftBank Mobile Corp. Broadcom has already secured W-CDMA chip business with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the third-largest handset vendor worldwide.
Broadcom was careful to note in the accompanying news release that the Panasonic deal may be seen as “further validating Broadcom’s technological innovation and development in the 3G market.”
The language seemed calculated to touch upon Broadcom’s issues with Qualcomm Inc., which is currently playing out in an ongoing lawsuit in which Broadcom claims that its chip rival is infringing on its W-CDMA patents. A federal judge recently ruled that Qualcomm’s products indeed infringe on one of three Broadcom patents, but Qualcomm plans to appeal.
The patent dispute sits on a larger issue, where Broadcom is accusing Qualcomm of stifling competition in the chip market with unfair licensing tactics.
Broadcom’s deal with Panasonic prompted BMO Capital Markets analyst Ambrish Srivastava to raise and answer a question that has been discussed by analysts: Is Broadcom focused on selling its 3G chips or is it focused on suing Qualcomm? Srivastava concluded, in a brief note to investors, that Broadcom’s recent wins with handset vendors indicate the chip-maker and IPR holder is indeed avidly pursuing 3G chip business. Srivastava rated Broadcom’s stock “outperform” for its sector.
