IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Broadcom Corporation (BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, announced today that it will upgrade its location based services (LBS) infrastructure to add Wi-Fi(R) positioning to its LBS portfolio of services. Broadcom will leverage its leadership in both GPS and Wi-Fi technologies to integrate, deploy and offer this new capability using the Wi-Fi Positioning System developed by Skyhook Wireless, Inc., which pioneered the development of Wi-Fi positioning. The Broadcom(R) LBS infrastructure is one of the largest and most extensive in the world, and the company's hosted LBS services have been selling to top tier cellular operators and mobile device manufacturers since 2002. The Broadcom LBS services business currently supports over 20 million active customers in over 170 countries; having provided over one billion extended ephemeris, or Long Term Orbits(TM) (LTO) downloads to date.
Using GPS alone to determine a location works well in outdoor environments, but the ability to determine one's location in this way is often impaired in deep urban and indoor environments. The next frontier in location based technologies is the ability to enhance GPS-only solutions by achieving faster location fixes, and in more locations, improving the user experience. Broadcom's LBS infrastructure began with a Worldwide Reference Network (WWRN) of receiving stations, featuring triple-redundant coverage of the GPS constellation. In 2002, the WWRN and assisted GPS (AGPS) servers debuted as the GPS data backbone for the United States' first nationwide E911 emergency location system. Since then, Broadcom has expanded its LBS portfolio to include LTO and Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) protocols, as well as hybrid positioning capabilities. The strategic relationship with Skyhook Wireless enables Broadcom to offer integrated hybrid positioning services that supplement AGPS and cellular network capabilities.
"Despite growing reliance upon hosted positioning services for hybrid solutions and LBS, the value of these services is often overlooked in the GPS and positioning markets," said Dominique Bonte, Telematics and Navigation Research Director from ABI Research. "The ability for a single technology provider to supply GPS and Wi-Fi silicon, hybrid location functionality, extensive SUPL services and LTO is a powerful advantage that will enable the next generation of location based services."
Broadcom will integrate the Skyhook solution with its chipsets and LBS solutions to enable hybrid location positioning. The Skyhook Wireless(TM) solution produces accurate location information by detecting Wi-Fi access points and comparing them against a known database of geo-located points. By combining its market leading location based solutions with Skyhook's positioning capabilities, Broadcom will enable mobile device and personal navigation device (PND) manufacturers to deploy a single, integrated hybrid positioning solution that better meets the needs and expectations of end users worldwide. The combined solution also capitalizes on the emerging trend of integrating multiple wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth(R), FM and GPS into cellular handsets and takes advantage of Broadcom's leadership in combination chips that combine these various technologies.
"We've made a significant investment in positioning systems such as GPS and AGPS, and in delivering integrated end-to-end platforms that improve the overall performance and user experience on mobile devices," said Scott Pomerantz, Vice President & General Manager of Broadcom's GPS line of business. "By integrating Wi-Fi positioning with our GPS, Wi-Fi and integrated combo chipsets, we are able to deliver a truly unique hybrid positioning system as part of a single platform."
"Broadcom is quickly becoming the market leader in location positioning hardware for mobile devices," said Jed Rice, Vice President of Market Development for Skyhook Wireless. "We're excited to work jointly to expand our LBS capabilities and support full hybrid positioning while delivering ubiquitous location availability and reliable accuracy in any operating environment."
Skyhook has pioneered the development of the first hybrid positioning system to fully leverage Wi-Fi, GPS and cell towers delivering precise location data supporting the growing market for location based services. The Skyhook Wireless(TM) hybrid positioning system XPSTM requires no new hardware, works indoors and outdoors, provides an instant location and is more accurate than current technologies in congested downtown areas.
Broadcom Location Based Service Products
Broadcom's LBS portfolio delivers powerful, flexible and easily deployed solutions to increase AGPS performance while enabling new applications. It complies with industry standards and ensures interoperability with all cellular operators and device manufacturers. These powerful, patented LBS technologies will also enable maximum performance when combined with Broadcom LBS and GPS silicon in end-to-end-solutions.
Broadcom's LBS product portfolio includes the Worldwide Reference Network, the AGPS server that delivers WWRN-derived AGPS orbit data, Long Term Orbits that enable assisted operation even when out of network coverage, and the SUPL location platform that provides AGPS data, positioning computations and hybrid location capabilities to SUPL-enabled devices.
This upgraded LBS infrastructure connects directly to Wi-Fi access points and cellular base stations, enabling device makers and applications developers to provide consumer-ready location based technology that works quickly and accurately, even in deep urban and indoor environments. The Wi-Fi positioning upgrade will further secure Broadcom's position as the premiere supplier of hosted LBS products, enabling customers who adopt Broadcom's unique end-to-end solutions to expand LBS into new frontiers of availability and performance.
For more information regarding Broadcom's location based service products, please visit the company's website at http://www.broadcom.com/products/GPS/Location-Based-Services.
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).
Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2007 revenue of $3.78 billion, and holds over 2,800 U.S. and 1,200 foreign patents, more than 7,300 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.
Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at http://www.broadcom.com.
Cautions regarding Forward Looking Statements:
All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward- looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the trends in the markets for location based technologies; our ability to enable mobile device and PND manufacturers to deploy a single, integrated hybrid positioning solution that better meets the needs and expectations of end users worldwide; the ability of this Wi-Fi upgrade to further our market position and allow customers to expand the availability and performance of their location based services; and our position in the market for location position hardware for mobile devices. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.
Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with Broadcom chip solutions that support GPS technology include, but are not limited to
-- Trends in the location based services markets in various geographic
regions, including seasonality in sales of consumer products into which
our products are incorporated, and possible disruption in commercial
activities related to terrorist activity or armed conflict in the
United States and other locations;
-- The rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt
Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets for LBS
applications;
-- Changes in our product or customer mix;
-- The volume of our product sales and pricing concessions on volume
sales;
-- Our ability to timely and accurately predict market requirements and
evolving industry standards and to identify opportunities in new
markets; and
-- Competitive pressures and other factors such as the qualification,
availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the
resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products.
Additional factors that may cause Broadcom's actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the list that can be found at http://www.broadcom.com/press/additional_risk_factors/Q32008.php.
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.
Broadcom(R), the pulse logo, Connecting everything(R), the Connecting everything logo and Long Term Orbits(TM) are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Skyhook Wireless(TM) and XPS(TM) are trademarks of Skyhook Wireless, Inc.. Bluetooth(R) is a trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Wi-Fi(R) is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
Broadcom Trade Press Contact
Henry Rael
Media Relations Manager
949-926-5734
hrael@broadcom.com
Broadcom Investor Relations Contact
T. Peter Andrew
Vice President, Corporate Communications
949-926-5663
andrewtp@broadcom.com
SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Mobile & Wireless
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