67 WALL STREET, New York - August 2, 2012 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Wireless Communications & Telecom Report. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
Topics covered: 4G Infrastructure Capital Expenditures - Tower Cell Splitting - Global Wireless Spectrum Allocation - Telco Dividend Yields
Companies include: QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM), Intel Corporation (INTC), Apple Inc. (AAPL), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Broadcom Corp. (BRCM), Altera Corp. (ALTR), Xilinx Inc. (XLNX), Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS), TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. (TQNT), RF Micro Devices Inc. (RFMD), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufactu (TSM), United Microelectronics Corpor (UMC), NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL), Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM)
The following interview excerpt is from an interview with Forbes Number 1 rated analyst Craig Berger of FBR Capital Markets:
TWST: What is the role semiconductors, which you cover, play in the wireless space?
Mr. Berger: Well, semiconductors are the basic building blocks for all things electronic. You couldn't have a cell phone without all the wireless and cellular chips inside it that make it work, and have a wireless base station or a Wi-Fi networking around the basic semiconductor building blocks that make it work.
TWST: Is it accurate that the explosion in wireless has positively impacted the semiconductor space as well?
Mr. Berger: Absolutely, it has driven quite a bit of growth to the chip guys. One company in particular that's benefited is Qualcomm (QCOM). Qualcomm is essentially the Intel (INTC) of the handset world, the 800-pound gorilla in cellular I.P. Qualcomm has a chip business where they power one-third of the world's cell phones, and they collect royalties on approaching half of the world's cell phones.
TWST: Is that a trend we're looking to continue? Is Qualcomm going to remain well positioned?
Mr. Berger: They are. They are investing the most into R&D, and they are involved in two different businesses. They invented 3G- and 4G-cellular technologies. The sale of any 3G or 4G device will drive royalties to Qualcomm, and they also are investing a tremendous amount into the chips. That will continue as well. Qualcomm has the only good 4G LTE chip solution now out there in the market.
Apple (AAPL) is going to use them in the iPhone 5. Samsung (005930.KS) is using them in the Galaxy S III in North America. Those are both going to be big winners for Qualcomm. And on the royalty side, both Nokia (NOK) and Samsung are in long-term patent license agreements extending beyond 2020.
TWST: As spectrum continues to tighten, providers are looking at increasing efficiency. Does that mean we're going to see changes in semiconductors becoming more effective?
For more from this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers, and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
