US chipset maker Qualcomm has announced what it says is the world’s first commercial 5G modem chipset solution to help accelerate the deployments of 5G networks globally.
Announced at the Qualcomm 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Qualcomm said the Snapdragon X50 5G modem is designed to support original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in building 5G smartphones and other devices, as well as aid mobile operators with early 5G trials and deployments.
The solution, with 800MHz bandwidth support, works in the millimetre-wave (mmWave) spectrum in the 28-GHz band and supports a peak download speed of 5Gpbs. It employs MIMO antenna technology with adaptive beam-forming and beam-tracking technology.
“The Snapdragon X50 5G modem heralds the arrival of 5G as operators and OEMs reach the cellular network and device testing phase,” said Cristiano Amon, executive vice president at Qualcomm Technologies.
“Utilizing our long history of LTE and Wi-Fi leadership, we are thrilled to deliver a product that will help play a critical role in bringing 5G devices and networks to reality. This shows that we’re not just talking about 5G, we’re truly committed to it.”
The Snapdragon X50 5G platform includes the modem, the SDR051 mmWave transceivers, and the supporting PMX50 power management chip.
The modem can be used for multi-mode 4G/5G mobile broadband, along with fixed-wireless broadband devices, when paired with a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with an integrated Gigabit LTE modem and interwork cohesively via dual-connectivity.
Sampling for the Snapdragon X50 5G modem is expected to begin in the second half of 2017, with the first commercial products integrated the modem expected in the first half of 2018.
The company also introduced three new processors for mobile devices – the Snapdragon 653, Snapdragon 626 and Snapdragon 427 processors.
The Snapdragon 653, Snapdragon 626 are expected to be available in the market by the end of this year, while the 427 processor will appear in commercial devices by early 2017, Qualcomm said.