Samsung Electronics said it is developing its own baseband silicon for both LTE and WiMAX technology to help lower the cost of its handsets and reduce its exposure to IPR royalties.

Samsung said it is already sampling its mobile WiMax chipset to engineers. The company historically as relied on chips from Qualcomm but began diversifying its suppliers last year and brought Broadcom and Infineon in the fold. The Broadcom and Infineon chips supposedly use a software stack from Comneon, a joint venture between Infineon and InterDigital Communications that reportedly does not rely on Qualcomm's patents.

It's unclear how quickly Samsung will be able to incorporate its own chipsets in its devices and whether they will be used in its early LTE and WiMAX devices. It's highly likely Samsung will use Qualcomm LTE chipsets since Qualcomm has an aggressive schedule for LTE. Qualcomm is aiming to release engineering samples by the second quarter this year.

Source:EE Times