Via Technologies plans to acquire a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) chip design centre from LSI Logic. The announcement brings to a close a nearly five-month long search for a buyer as LSI Logic has looked to exit the CDMA chip market.
Financial terms for the acquisition of the centre, which is located in San Diego, were not disclosed.
In January, LSI Logic announced plans to spin off its CDMA business as part of a restructuring plan that included 1400 job cuts, approximately 20 per cent of the company's workforce at that time.
LSI Logic currently offers two baseband processors for CDMA handsets, according to the company's Web site. The SignalSphere CBP 3.0 is compatible with CDMAOne, PCS (Personal Communication Services) and AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service) networks and supports a data transfer rate of up to 64Kbps. The SignalSphere CBP 4.0 is designed for more advanced cellular services and is compatible with CDMA2000, PCS and AMPS networks. It supports data transfer rates up to 153.6Kbps.
In a statement, Via did not specify whether the deal to acquire LSI Logic's CDMA design centre also includes transferring the company's line of CDMA chips.
The decision to enter the market for baseband chips used in CDMA handsets will put Via, which is based in Taipei, in direct competition with Qualcomm's CDMA Technologies division, which currently dominates the market for CDMA chipsets.
