Next Generation Mobile Speed Evolves As Qualcomm Introduces The First Gbit And 5G Modem

The American multinational company, Qualcomm, announced new modems for future 4G and 5G networks at its 4G/5G summit in Hong Kong, thereby setting a milestone in the advancement of high-speed modems.

Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X16, which was announced earlier this year is now available and would be leveraged on the world's first Gbit mobile network. The testing of the network will be conducted by Telstra, an Australian telecommunications carrier. The network will be powered in collaboration with Ericsson and the first enabled device will be the new MR1100 mobile hotspot from Netgear using a discrete X16 modem, reported Forbes.

The Netgear Mobile Router MR 1100 is the only device capable of running speeds up to 1Gbps over 4G. It achieves gigabit speeds through 3X carrier generations; 4x4 Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) on two aggregated carriers; 2x2 MIMO on a third carrier and a Higher Order Modulation 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM).

In addition, according to reports by ZDNet, Qualcomm also unveiled an innovative 5G modem, the Snapdragon X50. It is designed to enable field trials and early deployments of 5G networks globally with download speeds of around 5Gbps. The X50 is a millimeter wave modem leveraging the 28GHz frequency band that would enable Qualcomm to reduce the size of antennas.

The 4G and 5G modems can be used for mobile broadband along with fixed wireless broadband services when paired with Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with the gigabit speed 4G modem. Cristiano Amon, executive vice president of Qualcomm technologies said "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 network to reality. This shows that we are not just talking about 5G, we are truly committed to it."

Samples of the Snapdragon X50 5G modem are expected to roll out in the second half of 2017 while the first commercial products integrated with the modem will be released in the first half of 2018.