Researcher Predicts Small Decline In RF Handset Parts

Market research specialist Strategy Analytics has predicted a modest decline of 2.9 percent in sales of radio components for wireless handsets in 2009, according to its latest figures in the report "Handset Radio Component Sales Forecast 2008Update." The report considers regional handset shipment trends correlated with gross domestic product (GDP) figures, component bills of material (BOMs), integration and partitioning trends, and component average selling prices.

The author of the report, Chris Taylor, notes: "Basebands, transceiver-baseband SoCs and complex PA modules should remain relatively strong segments of the market. These components will benefit from the trend toward multi-band, multimode W-EDGE phones ranging from ultra low cost models to feature phones and smartphones." There is hope for the market starting in 2010, according to Stephen Entwistle, Vice President of the Strategic Technologies Practice at Strategy Analytics: "The market should rebound in 2010, and we expect cellular radio components to chalk up an average annual growth rate of 4.2 percent per year from 2008 to 2013 after a down year in 2009. On top of this, emerging wireless-enabled mobile computing devices such as mobile Internet devices (MIDs) will add as much as another 10 percent to annual component demand by 2013."