Chip Makers Reach Licensing Deal

Broadcom Corp., an Irvine developer of networking modem chips, has struck a deal with a Milpitas chip maker to license technology that enables high-speed voice transmission over the Internet.

LSI Logic Corp. announced the agreement with Broadcom on Monday, but did not disclose the financial terms.

The agreement makes Broadcom the most significant customer for LSI’s so-called ZSP technology, a blueprint for changing light, heat and other signals into digital computer language, LSI said.

LSI’s primary competition is Texas Instruments Inc., which controls almost half the $4.4-billion market for digital signal processor chips. LSI said it is aiming to set the industry standard by licensing its inventions to Broadcom and other semiconductor makers.

Broadcom also makes chips that power digital set-top boxes for television and high-speed networking equipment. Its fortunes have skyrocketed as consumers and businesses have sought faster ways to use the Internet.

In the first nine months of last year, Broadcom’s revenue more than doubled to $357.4 million and net income more than doubled to $46.4 million. The company’s stock price more than quadrupled in 1999.