Intel is picking up television demodulator and tuner technology through a $70 million acquisition of Zarlink Semiconductor's RF Front-End Consumer Business unit.

Announced Friday, Zarlink's RF front-end operation, which is headquartered in the U.K., had revenues of $53 million in its fiscal 2005 year. The acquired business includes demodulators and tuners that comprise the front end of many consumer electronicx devices, enabling them to receive a digital signal, extract the audio and video streams, decompress and then either display or store the resulting images or audio broadcasts.

“Zarlink’s world-class RF Front-End products an technologies will be an integral part of a suite of products powering Intel’s new consumer electronics platforms,” said Glenda Dorchak, vice president of Intel’s Digital Home Group, in a statement. “Integrating leading digital television technology into these platforms is a key step to deliver the best digital home consumer entertainment experience.”

Zarlink Semiconductor, which is headquartered in Ottawa, said the sale of the U.K. operation will enable it to focus on its ongoing network communications, optical and ultra-low power efforts.