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Market News

OYSTER BAY, NY – Despite the global recession, wireless infrastructure continues to show signs of life.

According to ABI Research, Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) will have over 230,000 base stations added in 2010.

By 2014, 2G technologies (GMS, GPRS and EDGE) will comprise 30% to 50% of wireless infrastructure in the BRIC markets, says Aditya Kaul, senior analyst for ABI. The Middle East and Africa could see up to 80%.

The major influence on the regions’ infrastructure spending will be 3G, as the technology remains scarce in the area, Kaul adds.

Although the markets in China and India offer huge 3G potential, Latin America is not far behind.

“Let by Brazil, Latin America is growing surprisingly fast, with 3G deployments taking place ahead of most other emerging markets,” says Kaul. “Mobile WiMAX, while facing problems in North America, is seeing major activity in countries such as Brazil, Russia and India, and ABI Research expects healthy growth in these markets.”

HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND – Over the next six years, sales of low-cost mobile handsets are expected to increase by 22% to over 700 million units, reports Juniper Research.

Nearly 80% of new users will come from emerging markets, with the majority coming from the Middle East and Africa.

Shipment volumes are expected to reach 166 million by 2014, representing 24% of sales for that year. Over the six-year period, shipments are expected to climb 54%, according to Juniper.

In the emerging markets, efforts are underway to lower handsets and services to under $5; benefits have already been realized in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.

Companies are also developing content-driven services to encourage first-time users to continue using their devices.

SAN DIEGO – RF Industries (RFI) reported second-quarter net sales fell 22% from last year to $3.5 million.

For the quarter ended April 30, net income dropped 60% from $542,000 to $214,000.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – The IPC has released the International Technology Roadmap for Electronic Interconnections 2008-2009.

The roadmap is based on a two-year study that looks at future technology for the industry. The IPC Roadmap focuses exclusively on the printed board and electronics assembly industries, and centers on the manufacturing of substrates and assemblies.

The IPC roadmap uses product emulators to illustrate OEM needs. These product emulators have been developed with input from several OEMs and experts. Product emulators have been used in the IPC roadmap since 1995.

Product emulators for the 2008-2009 IPC roadmap are:

E1 - Electronic Games (portable).
E2 - Consumer Products (under $500).
E3 - Hand-held/Wireless Electronics.
E4 - Mid Range Performance Electronics.
E5 - High Performance Systems (mainframe/server/mass storage).
E6 - RF and Microwave Electronics (10 MHz).
E7 - Harsh Environments/Aerospace.
E8 - Harsh Environments/Auto Electronics.

TOKYO – The Japanese government reported that machinery orders for the electronics sector were up 15.6% in April, month-on-month.

The auto industry also enjoyed a healthy increase, up 10.5% sequentially.

Not all sectors showed signs of recover as the a key indicator, core machinery orders (excluding shipbuilding and electric power products) fell 5.4% sequentially in April to the lowest value since April 1987.

Machinery orders in the general manufacturing sector also declined, down 9.4% month-on-month, and non-manufacturers orders fell 8.8% sequentially.