Prudential at SUPERCOMM:
This week, Atlanta hosted SUPERCOMM 2000 the communications exhibition and conference of Olympic proportions. The sheer magnitude of the show substantiated the fact the broadband communications has taken center stage in the world of high-tech. It required over 460,000 square feet of exhibit floor space to house the 700 plus companies anxious to demonstrate their communications prowess.
Focus Is On Increased Bandwidth, Smaller Footprints, and Time To Market
The booths/displays of the infrastructure equipment suppliers came in many sizes, shapes, and color but their messages were consistent. The common mantra was that each company aims to provide equipment that supports more bandwidth in a smaller footprint and intends to get it to market quicker. A primary way to accomplish this goal is to utilize less internally developed custom semiconductors, commonly known as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), and more commercially available semiconductors targeted at these applications. Such targeted semiconductor components are typically classified as ASSP (Application Specific Standard Products).
Vitesse, PMC-Sierra, And Applied Micro Circuits Are Well Suited In The Area ASSP Components.
The area of ASSP for broadband communications has become one of the hottest areas in the semiconductor market today. Present at SUPERCOMM 2000 were the companies that pioneered this area such as Vitesse (VTSS, 68 1/16, Strong Buy/SBI), PMC-Sierra (PMCS, 184 3/8, Strong Buy), and Applied Micro Circuits (AMCC, 102 1/8, not rated). These companies' booths were mobbed with equipment designers anxious to discuss the latest product introductions. Of particular interest to the designers were the companies' roadmaps to supply standard products that address functions closer and closer to the core of their designs (commonly referred to as the switch fabric). These types of conversations were typically followed by questions regarding the ability to then integrate the various functions into a decreasing number of chips. We believe it is these two parameters, the ability to offer the complete system solution followed by the ability to drive integration, that will define the long-term winners in the area of broadband semiconductors. Within our universe we believe both Vitesse and PMC-Sierra are well on their way to becoming two of the big winners in this market. |
