Smartphone Chip Maker Announces Intent to Buy Innovision

U.S.-based Broadcom, which reportedly supplies wireless chips for Apple’s iPhone and iPad, among other devices, announced plans to acquire UK-based NFC technology company Innovision Research & Technology in a cash deal valued at about US$47.5 million.

The acquisition, expected to close in the third quarter, signals Broadcom’s continued interest in Near Field Communication and means the large semiconductor supplier is planning to incorporate NFC with its chips that combine Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies.

In a statement, Broadcom said it “believes that NFC will become increasingly adopted in smartphones and other mobile devices and sees NFC as a valuable part of its wireless connectivity portfolio alongside other technologies, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, FM and GPS.” The company added that it believes buying Innovision could accelerate its efforts to “bring next-generation NFC products to market.”

At present, the few NFC phone models on the market and those expected next year carry standalone NFC chips from such suppliers as NXP Semiconductors and Inside Contactless.

Incorporating NFC into combo-wireless chipsets is a longer-term proposition. Despite development and licensing deals Innovision netted in 2009 and 2010 with six major semiconductor suppliers, including Broadcom, Innovision continues to lose money–including £2.9 million (US$4.4 million) for the year ending March 31 on revenue of £2 million.

Besides combo-wireless chips, some semiconductor makers are working on incorporating NFC in the phone baseband, although it’s not clear whether any are working with Innovision IP.

Millions in royalty revenue from sales of combo chips incorporating its NFC IP would not begin to flow to Innovision until 2012 or 2013, the company has projected. Innovision also makes RFID tags designed for NFC phones to read, but delays in commercial launches of NFC projects have limited tag sales.

Broadcom, which had revenue of just under $4.5 billion in 2009, reportedly supplied Bluetooth and Wi-Fi combo chips for Apple’s iPad, introduced this year, as well as a chip combining Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and FM radio for the 2009 iPhone 3GS. One blogger reported Broadcom’s controller chip is used in the fourth-generation iPhone touch screen.

The company, which also supplies wireless and wired chips for such devices as cable and DSL modems, TV set-top boxes and network servers, is not confirming that it supplies Apple. But it has announced broad support with its wireless chips for increasingly popular smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system for smartphones. It could add NFC to these chips, as well.

Broadcom, which like Innovision is a member of the NFC Forum trade group, said it would honor Innovision’s contractual obligations. But it is unclear what that means for the development and licensing deals Innovision has in place with five other major semiconductor suppliers, which are competitors of Broadcom’s.

Last December, Broadcom said it would pay more than $160 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging officers of the company backdated stock options. The company did not admit wrongdoing.

HEADLINE NEWS

Australian Transit Agency to Launch Mobility-as-a-Service Trial as It Pursues Long-Term MaaS Strategy

Plans by Transport for New South Wales, Australia’s largest transit agency, to launch a trial enabling users to plan, book and pay for multimodal rides is the next step toward the agency’s long-ter

Updated: U.S. Transit Agency Seeks to Reduce–Though Not Eliminate–Cash Acceptance with New Fare-Collection System

Updated: The Spokane Transit Authority in Washington state confirmed that its new fare-collection system will include contactless open-loop payments–with a beta test planned for next October, a spokesman told NFC Times' sister publication Mobility Payments.

UK Government Seeks to Bring London-Style Contactless Fare Payments System to Other Regions

The UK government’s plan to equip 700 rail stations over the next three years to accept contactless open-loop payments is a major initiative, as it seeks to replicate the success of London’s contactless pay-as-you go fare payments system elsewhere in the country–a goal that has proved elusive in the past.

More Cities in Finland Expected to Move to Open-Loop Fare Payments

A fourth city in Finland is beginning to roll out contactless open-loop payments, with “more in the pipeline,” according to one supplier on the project, making the Nordic country one of the latest hotspots for the technology.

Moscow Metro Expands Test of ‘Virtual Troika’ in Pays Wallets, as It Continues to Develop Digital-Payments Services

Moscow Metro is recruiting more users to test its “Virtual Troika” card in two NFC wallets, those supporting Google Pay and Samsung Pay, as one of the world’s largest subway operators continues to seek more ways for its customers to pay for rides.

Ohio Transit Agency Expects Significant Revenue Loss as it Builds Equity with Fare Capping

The Central Ohio Transit Authority, or COTA, officially launched its new digital-payments service Monday, including a fare-capping feature that the agency estimates will cost it $1.8 million per year in lost fare revenue, the agency confirmed to Mobility Payments.

Special Report: Interest Grows in ‘White-Label EMV’ for Closed-Loop Transit Cards

As more transit agencies introduce open-loop fare payments, interest is starting to grow in use of white-label EMV cards that agencies can issue in place of proprietary closed-loop cards for riders who don’t have bank cards or don’t want to use them to pay fares.

Swedish Transit Agency Launches Express Mode Feature for Apple Pay, though Most Ticketing Still with Barcode-Based App

Skånetrafiken, the transit agency serving one of Sweden’s largest counties, announced today it has expanded its contactless open-loop payments service to include the Express Mode feature for Apple Pay.

Major Bus Operators in Hong Kong Now Accepting Open-Loop Payments–Adding More Competition for Octopus

Two more bus operators in Hong Kong on Saturday launched acceptance of open-loop contactless fare payments, with both also accepting QR code-based mobile ticketing–as the near ubiquitous closed-loop Octopus card continues to see more competition.

Moscow Metro Launches Full Rollout of ‘Face Pay;’ Largest Biometric Payments Service of Its Kind

Touting it as the largest rollout of biometric payments in the world, Moscow Metro launched its high-profile “Face Pay” service Friday, as expected, and predicted that 10% to 15% would regularly us

Indonesian Capital Seeks to Expand to Multimodal Fare Collection and MaaS

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, whose metropolitan area is home to more than 30 million people, is notorious for its stifling traffic congestion. In response, the government metro and light-rail networks and now it is funding an expansion of the fare-collection system to enable more multimodal payments and to build a mobility-as-a-service platform.

Exclusive: NFC Wallets Grow as Share of Contactless Fare Payments and Not Only Because of Covid

Transit agencies that have rolled out open-loop contactless payments are seeing growing use of NFC wallets to pay fares, as Covid-wary passengers see convenience in tapping their phones or wearables to pay.