Global baseband revenue hits $7.1 billion in Q3 2020; Qualcomm leads: Report

The global cellular baseband processor market grew 27 per cent year-over-year to reach an all-time-high $7.1 billion in Q3 2020, a new report has said.

Qualcomm, MediaTek, HiSilicon, Samsung LSI and Intel captured the top-five cellular baseband revenue share spots in Q3 2020, according to the report by market research firm Strategy Analytics.

Qualcomm maintained its baseband market share lead with 40 per cent revenue share in Q3 2020, followed by MediaTek with 22 per cent and HiSilicon with 19 per cent.

“After experiencing seven consecutive quarters of shipment decline, Qualcomm finally returned to growth in Q3 2020, thanks to 5G and iPhone design-wins. Revenue from 5G chips accounted for over 60 per cent of Qualcomm’s total baseband revenue in Q3 2020,” Sravan Kundojjala, Associate Director, Strategy Analytics, said in a statement.

“Despite intense competition in the 5G baseband and radio chipset market, Qualcomm increased its 5G share to 56 per cent in Q3 2020. Qualcomm is well-situated to continue its 5G momentum into 2021 with its multi-tier portfolio.”

The research showed that 5G baseband shipments showed over ten-fold growth in Q3 2020.

For the first time, 5G baseband processor revenue overtook 4G baseband revenue.

5G basebands accounted for over 50 per cent of total baseband revenue in Q3 2020.

“MediaTek made headway in the 5G market and more than doubled its 5G baseband shipments on a sequential basis in Q3 2020. MediaTek continued to gain share in the 4G baseband market and captured the top unit share spot in Q3 2020,” Christopher Taylor, Director of the Strategy Analytics RF & Wireless Components service, added.