Europe : According to the Strategy Analytics report, "New Transceivers at 3GSM '07 Mark the Ascendance of W-EDGE," W-EDGE has emerged as the de facto standard for new handsets, as exemplified by the blizzard of new W-EDGE transceivers announced at 3GSM '07. New transceivers for W-EDGE announced by component suppliers at 3GSM `07 ranged from small, highly integrated two-transceiver solutions to completely integrated baseband-transceiver SoCs (systems on chip).

According to Christopher Taylor ( inset ), Director, RF & Wireless Components for Strategy Analytics, "Transceiver makers have aggressively embraced multi-band W-EDGE, a move that, until recently, they had considered with trepidation given the uncertainties of the market and the technical challenges." W-EDGE handsets can operate across multiple regions by supporting W-CDMA, EDGE and legacy GSM and GPRS modes.

Stephen Entwistle, VP of the Strategy Analytics Strategic Technologies Practice, adds that "The complexity of new radio components for W-EDGE handsets has pushed the leading suppliers into two camps, those that specialize in power amplifiers bundled with transceivers as an optimized solution, and those that offer ultra-compact, multi-band transceivers and matching basebands fabricated with the latest CMOS technology. Playing in this market has gotten more challenging with W-EDGE, especially for smaller players that lack system expertise."