5 things to know today…
1. Qualcomm is in talks with NXP Semiconductors about a possible acquisition, according to The Wall Street Journal. A takeover of NXP would likely cost Qualcomm about $30 billion, or approximately a third of its current market capitalization.
NXP, based in the Netherlands, claims to be the largest maker of automotive chips, thanks to last year’s acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor. NXP and Freescale both had automotive units headquartered in Germany, but the company has said that it sees a lot of automotive chip development migrating to Silicon Valley.
Qualcomm is of course the leading maker of processors and modems for smartphones, and also is a major developer of Wi-Fi connectivity chips. More than half the company’s operating profit comes from licensing its patented technologies. This year, Qualcomm announced an automotive processor with an integrated LTE modem.
2. Amid reports that it will close its Swedish manufacturing facilities, Ericsson is moving its human resources office back to Sweden. That office has been based in California since 2014, but now the company says its chief human resources officer, Bina Chaurasia, will resign, as Ericsson begins a search for a replacement to be located in Stockholm. Maj-Britt Arfert has been appointed acting chief HR officer, effective Nov. 15, while the search for a successor is underway.
3. Samsung is under fire in China for not replacing Note 7 devices. The country’s national broadcaster accused the company of discrimination, saying U.S. customers received replacement phones and public apologies, while Chinese consumers were told their phones probably did not need to be replaced.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 “phablets” were recalled in the U.S. after multiple reports of batteries catching fire. The Korean company said most of the devices it shipped to China had batteries from a different supplier. When a Chinese customer complained about a device catching fire, Samsung said the problem was probably caused by an external heat source.
4. Huawei said it has released the first microwave solution for FTTx. Fiber to the x refers to network architectures that include optical fiber for the so-called “last mile” of connectivity. Huawei said that service providers can now supplement fiber, copper and coaxial cable with microwave, offering high-speed broadband even in geographically challenging areas.
5. Sonus Networks has acquired Taqua in an all cash deal valued at $20 million. Sonus sells hardware and software for operators’ core networks, including session border controllers, diameter signaling controllers and policy/routing servers. Taqua develops software to enable voice over Wi-Fi and voice over LTE. Two years ago Taqua bought Kineto, which develops device-based software to enable Wi-Fi calling.
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