Cage Chao, Taipei; Jessie Shen

 

With Samsung Electronics, HTC and other smartphone vendors set to promote their 4G handsets in 2012, suppliers of the major components such as baseband processors and power amplifiers (PAs) are gearing up for the new product rollouts starting the second quarter, according to industry sources.

The expanding market for 4G smartphones will also help the performance of the chip companies, the sources believe. Taking PA firms as an example, 4G handsets require two times more PAs than 3G ones, the sources indicated.

Qualcomm appears to be racing ahead of its fellow baseband chip companies toward 4G, the sources pointed out. Meanwhile, PAs from Avago Technologies have entered the design-win stage with many clients, said the sources, adding that the firm also has grabbed orders for Apple's latest and upcoming new iPhones.

The supply chain for Qualcomm and Avago will also benefit from more 4G phones on the market, the sources noted. For instance, Avago's main contract manufacturer Win Semiconductors and upstream materials supplier Visual Photonics Epitaxy Company (VPEC) are expected to enjoy a particularly strong first half of 2012, the sources said.

Revenues at VPEC, a manufacturer of GaAs epitaxial wafers used in the fabrication of PAs, hit the company's higest monthly level in January 2012. The firm is likely to see its revenues stay at high levels in February and March with a possibility of re-setting the January record, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Win Semi is building new capacity to meet the increased demand from its clients, the sources observed. The GaAs IC foundry is expected to run at full capacity in the second quarter, the sources said.