PMC-Sierra buys 3G-equipment company
individual.com
July 5, 2000
Darrell Dunn
Chips for the 3G handset market have
garnered a lot of attention over the past few
months, but companies are also moving
quickly to provide platforms required to
build 3G infrastructure equipment.
One of those companies, PMC-Sierra Inc.,
last week announced it will acquire Datum
Telegraphic, a developer of technology for
CDMA and other emerging 3G protocols, in
a stock exchange valued at about $125
million.
PMC-Sierra will use Datum's technology to
help build chipset architectures for 3G
wireless-infrastructure equipment expected
to begin rolling out next year, according to
company executives.
"These systems will require new classes of
technology and ground-up design for the 3G
class of equipment," said Glenn Bindley,
vice president and general manager of the
Access Products Division at PMC-Sierra in
Burnaby, British Columbia. "We believe
that, based on customer feedback and
response, this will be a key piece of
technology for mass deployment of
third-generation devices."
Datum, Vancouver, British Columbia, has
developed a DSP-based technology that will
allow for the transmission of major digital
wireless standards, including W-CDMA,
EDGE, and cdma2000, using a single,
digitally controlled power amplifier. Current
equipment requires the use of multiple
amplifiers.
"What they've got is breakthrough
technology," said Will Strauss, an analyst at
Forward Concepts Co., Tempe, Ariz. "The
use of a single big amplifier, rather than
many big amplifiers, is truly an advance, if it
works as advertised."
Datum has developed a board-level ASIC
implementation of its technology that
PMC-Sierra plans to move into a chip
solution that will be available late this year,
Bindley said.
The chip is expected to be deployed in Japan
in 2001, he said. Datum is currently working
with three wireless-infrastructure
equipment suppliers, whose names have not
been disclosed.
"We believe this can be a very substantial
business for us, growing to more than $100
million over the next few years," Bindley
said.
PMC-Sierra, which reported net income of
$67.7 million on revenue of $245.2 million
in 1999, and net income of $28.2 million on
revenue of $97.7 million in the first quarter
of this year, last month announced its
acquisition of Malleable Technologies.
That acquisition is being completed via a
stock purchase valued at about $250 million.
Malleable is a San Jose-based fabless
semiconductor supplier of DSPs optimized
for voice-over-packet applications.
Both of PMC-Sierra's recent acquisitions
are expected to be completed later this
quarter.
ebnonline.com
Copyright c 2000 CMP Media Inc.
By Darrell Dunn |
