Although the LTE modem market is still just a fraction of the overall market, it is by far the fastest-growing area, and is the focus of research and development efforts by chip manufacturers.
Qualcomm dominates this market with a 94% share, according to Forward Concepts. Most of the LTE-capable modems shipped by Qualcomm are integrated with an applications processor. Qualcomm is one of a handful of mobile chipmakers that has put the applications processor and the baseband modem onto one dye. Of note, the baseband modems that Qualcomm sells to Apple are not integrated solutions, because Apple designs its own applications processors.
LTE smartphones fall back onto the 3G network when they make voice calls, and will continue to do so until carriers launch voice-over-LTE. Therefore, the vast majority of LTE modems are dual-mode, meaning that they include 3G radios as well as LTE radios.
However, two chipmakers are carving out a niche in the single-mode LTE modem market: Altair and Sequans. These modems are used for mobile devices that use data but do not make voice calls, i.e. tablets. Altair’s solution is used in Verizon’s carrier-branded LTE tablet, and China Telecom is preparing to offer devices that use Sequans’ single-mode TD-LTE CPE modems.
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