Surprising Gains in Semiconductor Sectors Despite Economic Downturn According to The Linley Group Study


MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire - April 28, 2009) - In spite of the downturn in communications-semiconductor sales, some sectors revealed double-digit growth according to the latest market share numbers released by The Linley Group. Among the fastest growing product markets in 2008 were 10-Gigabit Ethernet NICs, switch fabrics, PON, and G.709/OTN.

"These findings support our forecast last year that even in a week economy, a number of growth opportunities still existed," said Joseph Byrne, senior analyst with The Linley Group. "We found that the five fastest growing companies in 2008 were AMCC, Broadcom, Intellon, PMC-Sierra, and Texas Instruments, with Broadcom growing across the board, particularly in Gigabit Ethernet and broadband."

Report highlights include:

--  10-Gigabit Ethernet NIC revenue grew 65%
--  Switch fabric revenue grew 49%
--  PON interface chip revenue grew 46%
--  G.709/OTN IC revenue grew 43%
--  Double-digit growth was also reported in network processors (NPUs),
    voice-over-packet (VoP) processors, and embedded processors for storage
    systems
    

Complete details are available in "Communications Semiconductor Market Share 2008," the latest report from The Linley Group, providing all new market-share data for more than 20 categories of wired communications semiconductors. The report includes Ethernet products, broadband interface chips, embedded processors, network processors, interconnect chips, security accelerators, voice-over-packet (VoP) processors, FPGAs, and more. New in this edition are 10GbE controller chips for NIC and LAN on motherboard (LOM) applications, OTN chips, and 32-bit CPU IP.

Availability

The report is available now directly from The Linley Group. For further details, including pricing and a list of included tables, visit http://www.linleygroup.com/Reports/market_share_rpt.html.

About The Linley Group

The Linley Group celebrates 10 years as the industry's leading source for independent technology analysis of semiconductors for networking, communications, mobile, and wireless. The company provides strategic consulting services, more than a dozen in-depth analytical reports, and Linley Tech seminars focused on advanced technology topics. For insights on recent industry news subscribe to "Linley Wire" and "Linley on Mobile," the company's free newsletters. For more information visit http://www.linleygroup.com.

Contact Information: For additional information, please contact: Candace Doyle The Linley Group +1.408.370.7631 candaced@linleygroup.com