Apple makes deal with Broadcom to use US-made chips

Chipmaker will develop 5G radio frequency components in the US for Apple

Apple said it would tap Broadcom for what are known as film bulk acoustic resonator chips. Reuters

Apple on Tuesday said it has entered a multibillion-dollar deal with chipmaker Broadcom to use chips made in the US.

Under the multiyear deal, Broadcom will develop 5G radio frequency components with Apple that will be designed and built in several US facilities, including Fort Collins, Colorado, where the chipmaker has a major factory, Apple said.

Broadcom shares were up about 2 per cent after the announcement. The chipmaker is already a major supplier of wireless components to Apple.

Apple said it would tap Broadcom for what are known as film bulk acoustic resonator chips. The FBAR chips are part of a radio-frequency system that helps iPhones and other Apple devices connect to mobile data networks.

“All of Apple’s products depend on technology engineered and built here in the United States, and we’ll continue to deepen our investments in the US economy because we have an unshakable belief in America’s future,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in a statement.

Apple said it currently supports more than 1,100 jobs in Broadcom’s Fort Collins FBAR filter-manufacturing facility.