After experiencing a sharp drop in memory chip prices and failure to obtain government assistance, Elpida filed the largest bankruptcy protection application in two years on Monday. As a leading DRAM memory chip manufacturer, Elpida's bankruptcy will allow other industry players to gain more control over production capacity and help them deal with price pressures. This pressure has caused Micron Technology to fail to make profits in the past 10 years.
Elpida’s creditors plan to reduce losses by selling assets such as the Hiroshima factory. According to estimates by the US investment bank Sanford C. Bernstein & Co, the factory's valuation is about one billion US dollars. For potential buyers such as Micron Technology, this price is only one-fifth that of building a new factory of the same size. This is in line with Micron's strategy of cheaply buying production capacity, so that the company does not have to spend too much cash or have heavy debt for it. Micron Technology currently has $1.9 billion in cash.
Dan Berenbaum, an analyst at MKM Partners in the U.S. investment company, said: “Micron Technology is clearly the winner. The question now is how much money they will pay for it.â€
The world’s fourth-largest DRAM company’s share price rose 7.7% yesterday, driven by rumors that Micron may purchase Elpida’s factory. However, the company spokesman declined to comment.
Elpida's plant is responsible for 18% of the DRAM industry's capacity, making it the world's third largest DRAM maker. Discontinuing these factories or producing other chips will help ease the oversupply and the loss of the entire industry.
Demand declines As smartphones and tablet PCs are increasingly sought after by consumers, such devices require less memory and often use different types of chips, causing the computer storage chip industry to experience a decline in demand.
As DRAM chip prices fall below the cost of production, Elpida's plight has been exacerbated. According to estimates by US market research firm Gartner, global DRAM sales fell by 26% to $29.2 billion last year, and surged by 72% in 2010.
Elpida was merged from NEC and Hitachi's memory chip business in 1999.
Hans Mosesmann, an analyst at American investment firm Raymond James & Associates, said that if Micron Technology bids for some DRAM factories, Elpida’s creditors will get an “unfortunate†offer because the United States The company knows that it is unlikely to face any competition. "Others will not touch the DRAM business at all. Micron Technology is very practical. They don't want to buy Elpida entirely," Mosesman said. He gave Micron Technology's "Strong Buy" rating.
Earlier this month, Micron’s management revealed to Mosesman and other analysts that the company is focusing on Japan’s status in order to gain opportunities. But the company’s executives declined to comment on whether Elpida is a potential opportunity and what measures they might take.
"There does not seem to be any new capital entering the DRAM business," said Mark Adams, president of Micron Technology, in an interview with the media on February 9. "If our thinking is correct, the industry will be mature enough and integration will be more significance."
Debt guidelines Elpida’s current total debt is approximately $4 billion and has been lost for five consecutive quarters. Micron Technology has been conducting mergers and acquisitions for more than a decade and has promoted industry consolidation. The company’s total debt is approximately US$1.95 billion, which is basically equivalent to its cash reserves. The company's goal is to keep the debt ratio between 20% and 25%. Micron's current cash-plus market value is $8.4 billion, so the debt ratio is about 18%.
According to Daniel Amir, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets, an American investment company, according to this ratio, Micron Technology can only add another 500 million U.S. dollars in debt, which is not enough to acquire Japanese competitors.
"They are unlikely to buy Elpida completely. They are reluctant to spend 2 billion U.S. dollars." Amir said.
As the leading player in the memory chip industry, Samsung Electronics is the only company in the industry that has always maintained profitability. The company said that it will still focus on its own business, so it is unlikely to bid for Elpida assets.
"Samsung will not lend a helping hand," said Mosesman.
In addition to Samsung, other DRAM makers are hardly profitable. Balancing the supply-demand relationship is a continuing challenge facing the DRAM industry. The construction period of such products is several years and cannot be easily shut down. As billions of dollars were spent on building factories, companies like Elpida could not repay their debts.
Over the past decade, the entire DRAM industry has spent more than six years on operating costs that exceed cash benefits. Even if Samsung, which has tripled its stock price, is included, the total market value of memory chip makers has also shrunk by 40% since October 2002.
Shawn Webster, an analyst with Macquarie Securities, believes that if Elpida’s production capacity is reduced or stopped, all its competitors will benefit from near-equilibrium supply and demand and stable prices. "As long as the opponent is in trouble, it will be good for all other companies." He said, "If you stop production, it will help all other companies in the DRAM industry."
Consolidation Trading Earlier this month, Steve Appleton, who had long served as CEO of Micron Technology, was killed in a flight accident. Mosesman and other analysts suspect that his death may lead to a slowdown in the process of industry integration negotiations, as many of the previous integration transactions were promoted by Appleton.
Micron Technology started with the investment of the American agricultural product company JRSimplot. After purchasing the Texas Instruments storage business in 1998, it became one of the largest companies in the computer storage chip industry. Since then, the company has also acquired Toshiba's factory, controlled a Japanese joint venture, and established a partnership with Taiwan South Asia Technology and Intel to gain more capacity.
In 2008, when Qimonda was on the brink of bankruptcy and sought investment, Micron acquired the shares of Hua Ya Technology held by Qimonda. Qimonda subsequently closed down and sold chip production equipment.
However, Micron Technology has given up some opportunities. The company had planned to acquire Hynix, the world's second-largest DRAM maker. However, Micron Technology gave up this plan in April 2002 because it failed to reach an agreement on the terms of the acquisition.
A dilemma The United States securities company Wedbush Securities analyst Betsy Van Hees believes that one of the factors for Micron Technology's purchase of Elpida is whether Elpida’s creditors can provide low-cost financing. Knowing that debt restructuring is not enough to make the company back to competitiveness, these creditors are currently in a dilemma. She said that to increase productivity, Elpida needs to increase investment.
When asked on February 10 whether Micron would increase its debt ratio to more than 25% in the process of integrating the industry, the company's CEO Mark Durcan stated that he will handle this problem very carefully. Avoid the decline in confidence due to the increase in debt.
However, he also said that if the chance is good, he will consider increasing the debt ratio.
"If they can get existing creditors to provide acquisition financing at a very low interest rate, it may be feasible," Van Heiss said. Otherwise, "They will not rush to do anything."
1. What wireless network
Wireless network, as the name suggests, is a way to build a network without relying on network cables, which is mainly achieved by using wireless communication technology. There are two main ways of wireless network (such as 4G, 3G or GPRS) and wireless local area network (WiFi) through mobile communication networks.
2, What wireless bridge
Wireless bridge, as the name suggests, is the bridge of wireless network, which uses wireless transmission to achieve a communication bridge between two or more networks. In addition to having the basic characteristics of a wired bridge, a wireless bridge works in the 2.4G or 5.8G wireless license-free frequency band, making it easier to deploy than other wired network equipment.
From the function to understand the wireless bridge, it can be used to connect two or more independent network segments, these independent network segments are usually located in different buildings, hundreds of meters to tens of kilometers apart, can be widely used in the interconnection between different buildings.
At the same time, according to different protocols, wireless Bridges can be divided into 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n in the 2.4GHz band and 802.11a and 802.11n wireless Bridges in the 5.8GHz band.
3, the meaning of wireless bridge 2.4G and 5.8G
2.4G Bridge:
The advantages are low frequency, large wavelength and strong diffraction ability. Simply put, the propagation performance is good, and the propagation path is slightly shielded. Then there is the relatively low cost.
The disadvantage is that there are many devices using the 2.4G band, and the electromagnetic wave signal emitted by the bridge is easily interfered with the signal emitted by other devices, resulting in a decrease in transmission quality. Moreover, it is limited by the transmission bandwidth of the 2.4GHz band itself, which generally does not exceed 300Mbps
5.8G Bridge:
The advantages are high frequency, relatively pure channel, and large transmission bandwidth. The transmission bandwidth starts at 433Mbps and can easily reach more than 1Gbps. It is suitable for scenarios that require high data transmission.
The disadvantage is that the frequency is high, the signal wavelength is short, the penetration is poor, and there can be no shelter during the propagation. The cost of 5.8G equipment is higher than 2.4G, and it is still in the popularization stage.
Wireless bridge transmission system is usually composed of two or more wireless devices, due to the two-way transmission of data, each device needs to have the ability to send and receive wireless signals.
4, the working principle of wireless bridge
The working principle of the wireless bridge is that the bridge uses the air as a medium to transmit signals, which is simply that one end of the bridge converts the signal in the network cable into a wireless electromagnetic wave signal and transmits it to the air in a directional manner. The bridge at the other end does the opposite, picking up radio electromagnetic signals in the air and converting them into wired signals.
The wireless electromagnetic wave signal can be transmitted by air as the transmission medium, which can solve many problems of difficult construction of wired deployment: such as highways, rivers, mountain streams, or road hardening, and wired deployment and construction difficulties.
Wireless bridge networking has obvious advantages, and can achieve point-to-point or point-to-multipoint network connections at distances of up to 50 kilometers, and data transmission speeds of up to 108Mbps. Effectively solve the problem of network connectivity in the interval, as long as the wireless signal coverage area, the client can easily access the network, the fusion system, without any wiring, the wireless terminal can achieve zero configuration access, so it is very easy to carry out network maintenance and expansion.
Bridges are generally used in the following scenarios: wireless data acquisition, monitoring data transmission (outdoor and elevator), outdoor wireless coverage, outdoor remote wireless bridging, private ISP wireless broadband, unmanned monitoring station data return, etc.
5. How to choose the right bridge
Wireless bridge is a wireless monitoring and transmission equipment commonly used in the field of wireless monitoring, although it is a wireless device like wireless AP and Wireless Router, but it does not need to build wifi coverage, but is used to wireless transmission of video data. Like the switch in wired monitoring, the wireless bridge is an important transmission equipment in wireless monitoring, which is widely used in the two major fields of outdoor surveillance video transmission and elevator surveillance video transmission.
There are many kinds of wireless Bridges on the market, so how to choose a bridge that suits your needs? We will answer your questions from the following aspects.
â‘ Transmission distance
Wireless monitoring projects need to transmit the distance is not the same, wireless bridge transmission distance there are many kinds, some transmission 1~3 km, some transmission 3~5 km, some transmission 5~10 km, some transmission more than 20 km, must be determined according to the monitoring of the transmission distance, as far as possible the maximum transmission distance of the bridge is greater than the monitoring transmission distance, Because rain, fog, snow and other weather in the actual application environment will cause the transmission performance of the bridge to decline, the project construction should reserve sufficient performance margin.
â‘¡ Transmission bandwidth
There are many kinds of transmission rates of wireless bridge, such as 150Mbps, 3000Mbps, 450Mbps, 600Mbps, 900Mbps, etc., which rate to choose can be determined according to wireless monitoring requirements. What users actually need to consider is the transmission performance of the bridge over a specific distance, rather than the theoretical bandwidth data. For example, the theoretical transmission bandwidth of the IP-COM AP625 bridge is 433Mbps, and the actual point-to-point transmission bandwidth can reach 200Mbps at a distance of 2 kilometers, with 25 200W cameras without pressure.
â‘¢ Operating frequency
There are two main operating frequencies of wireless Bridges, 2.4G and 5.8G, and the characteristics of the two Bridges are different. In general, 2.4G wireless bridge is the current mainstream frequency band, good compatibility, good diffraction ability, but the anti-interference is relatively poor, especially in the urban area is vulnerable to wireless signal interference transmitted by other WiFi devices. The 5.8G channel is relatively pure, the anti-interference ability is better, the transmission distance is long, but the diffraction ability is poor.
Urban, downtown, long-distance transmission, camera stream is large, 2.4G interference is more, choose 5.8G wireless bridge. Others such as the transmission distance is relatively close, relatively remote, and the same frequency interference is less, etc. 2.4G wireless bridge is used
â‘£ antenna
Antenna is an important part of wireless bridge, used to transmit and receive wireless signals, no antenna, wireless bridge can not achieve communication. There are many types of antennas, including omnidirectional antennas and directional antennas. Omnidirectional antenna is used for short-range coverage and transmission, and directional antenna should be selected for long-distance bridge. The larger the gain of antenna, the better the performance of wireless bridge.
⑤ Power supply mode
The working environment of the wireless bridge usually involves some complex outdoor environments, such as forests, ports, tunnels, reservoirs and other places, so the power supply is a more troublesome problem. Choosing a wireless bridge that supports POE cable power supply can solve this problem well. IP-COM bridge all support PoE injector power supply, power supply distance up to 60 meters.
â‘¥ Protection level
The wireless bridge works outdoors, the environment is changeable, such as rain, rain and snow, high temperature, etc., the first requirement is waterproof, dustproof, heat resistance, and condensation resistance. For a qualified wireless bridge, these "qualities" are a must.
⑦ Pairing method
At present, there are three mainstream bridge pairing methods: key pairing, dip code pairing, automatic pairing. In terms of the simplicity of engineering applications, especially for projects that install dozens or hundreds of network Bridges at a time, automatic pairing is undoubtedly the best choice. IP-COM network bridge supports the automatic pairing of two network Bridges when they are powered on in the factory state, greatly reducing the workload.
6, wireless bridge installation requirements
Wireless bridge is an important transmission equipment in wireless monitoring, which is widely used in outdoor surveillance video transmission and elevator surveillance video transmission. In addition to selecting the right wireless bridge, we also need the bridge equipment to give full play to its performance advantages after installation to assist users in the project. Therefore, for some installation requirements and precautions of wireless bridge, we should pay more attention to avoid various problems in the later stage.
â‘ Installation height
In the process of wireless transmission, obstacles such as trees, buildings and large reinforced buildings will weaken and block wireless signals. In order to improve the wireless transmission performance and prevent signal damage and weak signal, the user should try to ensure that there are no obstacles in the transmission route of the wireless bridge during installation, and meet the transmission conditions that the two ends can see each other.
Both ends can not be simply understood as point-to-point visibility, which means that there can be no obstacles or potential obstacles in the Fresnel zone (radio wave terminology) in which the antenna is propagated. The main RF energy between the antennas is transmitted in this area, so the transmitting antenna must be high enough above the obstacle to maintain a line of sight path between it and the receiving antenna in order for the communication link to work properly.
â‘¡ Angle and signal debugging
Since the quality of the wireless bridge signal is directly related to the bandwidth and stability of the link, it is necessary to further debug the wireless bridge signal after the installation is completed (the signal strength can be adjusted by adjusting the direction of the antenna on both sides, the pitch Angle, etc.). The signal strength can be checked according to the signal status indicator of the bridge device (three lights, three signals are best, two are average, and one is poor) or the software. Detailed installation procedure for outdoor wireless aps
â‘¢ Requirements for lightning rod
When the wireless bridge is installed in the field, if there are no tall buildings or lightning rod protection nearby, lightning protection measures need to be considered, usually using lightning rod, generally installed in the urban area or surrounded by lightning rod protection, can not be set separately.
It can be seen from the characteristics of the lightning rod that the lightning rod is a lightning source, and the lightning rod will discharge in the grounding path when it is hit by lightning. Therefore, the lightning rod and the protected equipment need to be insulated, otherwise the lightning rod will have a lightning effect on other equipment when discharging. Due to the tip discharge characteristics of the lightning rod, it is easier to cause lightning discharge than the general equipment, so if the lightning rod cannot be isolated from the protected equipment, it will increase the probability of lightning strikes of other equipment. Therefore, the lightning rod grounding must be separate from the device grounding and cannot share the same grounding.
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â‘£ Power supply requirements
The normal input voltage of the PoE power module of the bridge ranges from 100V to 240V and the output voltage ranges from 24V to 48V. If the voltage is lower than or higher than this voltage, the normal operation of the device is affected or the PoE power module is damaged. In view of the unstable and high voltage field power supply, it is necessary to design a PoE power supply solution (such as regulated power supply and UPS power supply) that ADAPTS to the working voltage.
Because the bridge is a precision electronic equipment, it has high requirements for power supply, and is vulnerable to the impact and influence of other power supply equipment, so the power supply of the bridge should be separated from other high-power equipment such as pumping units, oil pumps, etc. When taking power at the same location, UPS, regulated power supply or isolation transformer should be installed to filter out the influence and interference on the power supply when the high-power motor is working.
When the PoE module is used to power the bridge through the network cable, the recommended distance is not more than 60 meters. When this distance is exceeded, it is recommended to move the transmission line near the bridge to meet the recommended power supply distance.
⑤ Device grounding requirements
The wireless bridge should be grounded. If the device is not grounded, the device may run abnormally or be damaged. The grounding resistance of the device should be less than 4 ohms, and the grounding cannot be shared with the lightning rod or strong current line. If PoE power is used, the ground cable also needs to be grounded. Users can ground a Class 5 (or higher) shielded network cable with a ground cable and a PoE adapter to effectively prevent static electricity and lightning strikes. The ground cable and ground point should be waterproof using waterproof tape and waterproof cement according to the waterproof requirements to prevent the ground point from being exposed to the air for a long time, which may cause oxidation or rust.
7, wireless bridge erection method
There are four common wireless bridge transmission modes, the distribution is point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, relay, reflection, here the first monitoring combined with pictures for you to briefly introduce the characteristics of these four wireless transmission modes.
â‘ point-to-point transmission
Point-to-point transmission mode is the simplest transmission mode, that is, we often say PTP, to a single device transmission, and then received by a single device, one-to-one transmission and reception is simple and direct. Point-to-point transmission mode of wireless bridge is often used in the case that the transmission distance is long, or the monitoring point is widely distributed, and point-to-multipoint transmission cannot be achieved.
â‘¡ Point-to-multipoint transmission
The point-to-multipoint transmission mode is developed based on the point-to-point transmission mode, which is often represented as a receiving end to multiple transmitting ends, and is often used for the situation where the transmission distance is relatively close, there are more monitoring points and the distribution is dense.
â‘¢ Relay transmission
The relay transmission mode is because the transmitting end and the receiving end can not avoid the barrier blocking the microwave signal, so the transfer equipment is added in the middle, so that the microwave signal is smoothly transmitted to the receiving end through the transfer equipment, this mode is due to increase the transfer equipment and increase the equipment cost investment, so it is generally not used when unnecessary.
â‘£ Reflection transmission
Reflection transmission is microwave transmission with the help of objects outside the transmission device, such as the transmitting end and the receiving end can not be seen, but there is a large building or a mountain with smooth rock walls in the middle, so that you can adjust the Angle of the equipment, through the building or mountain to reflect microwave signals for wireless communication.
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Shenzhen MovingComm Technology Co., Ltd. , https://www.movingcommiot.com