Ericsson Sverige AB, a Swedish developer of telecommunications silicon, said it has decided to stop Bluetooth development, which the company said was an indicator of the technologys mature state.
The company will continue to manufacture Bluetooth components, however.
Specifically, the company restructured its licensing operation, Ericssson Technology Licensing, which had set out to design Bluetooth solutions for other chip makers. That portion of the business will be discontinued, and design and development of Bluetooth solutions for the semiconductor industry will also cease, Michelle French, director of media relations for North America, said last week.
Ericsson will still continue to offer Bluetooth silicon, but halt development, French said. “Ericssons Bluetooth knowledge will now be further integrated into Ericsson Mobile Platforms, and Ericsson will form a new smaller Bluetooth unit to maintain its current customers, primarily manufacturers in the semiconductor industry,” she wrote in an e-mail.
“But regrettably, designing new Bluetooth solutions for the semiconductor industry does not offer Ericsson a business case that is strong enough to sustain, this is why Ericsson decided to restructure its operations,” French added.
The restructuring will be completed by the end of 2004, French said.
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