What does the semiconductor shortage mean for telecoms
Digital acceleration since COVID-19 has brought about a surge in demand for semiconductors across most sectors including telecoms, which is in the process of rolling out 5G, deploying cloud network functionality, cloud services and by extension, connecting volumes of IoT devices that previously did not have connectivity or require sophisticated integrated circuits (IC) i.e. chips.
Future Expansion
According to Forrester Research, global spending on telecommunications equipment is currently about US$345 billion, and our hunger for generating and exchanging data anytime, anywhere continues to increase. This is good news for our industry since both wired and wireless communications rely heavily on semiconductor devices, driving ongoing innovation at Lam and among our chipmaking customers. In fact, according to Gartner, the sector is expected to account for nearly 30% of worldwide semiconductor revenue by the end of 2017.
As communications become even faster and more secure, wireless applications will continue to expand and shape the way we communicate both now and in the future.
Semiconductors in Wireless Communications
Types of wireless communication include infrared, satellite, broadcast radio, microwave, mobile communications systems, Wi-Fi, and technologies such as Bluetooth and Zigbee. In addition, radio frequency (RF) power devices are also key components in a broad range of wireless communications. Here are just a few examples:
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Small devices that are capable of delivering several watts of RF power from a battery power source of a few volts are used in handheld applications such as cellphones.
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High-power RF devices, which can deliver up to hundreds of watts, are used in infrastructure applications such as cellphone base stations.
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System-on-chip (SoC) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) devices are being used in the development of wireless communications systems such as 5G.
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Low-energy microcontrollers (MCUs) are enabling Bluetooth capabilities.
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Wireless sensor networks are used for applications such as environmental monitoring, structural monitoring of bridges and buildings, and asset tracking.
