Qualcomm announces the first 5G modem for mobile devices

[Hamartia Antidote]

http://www.itproportal.com/news/qualcomm-announces-the-first-5g-modem-for-mobile-devices/

Qualcomm has just announced its new Snapdragon X50 modem that will bring gigabit internet to mobile phones over 5G.

Although we are quite a few years away from seeing wide scale adoption of 5G mobile internet, Qualcomm has just announced the world's first 5G modem that will allow mobile phones to reach multi-gigabit download speeds.

On Monday, the company announced that it had created the first 5G modem which it has dubbed the Snapdragon X50. Qualcomm's new chip has the potential to reach download speeds of up to 5 gigabits per second which is exceptionally fast given that the global average 4G download speed is nowhere near that fast at just 13.5 Mbps.

Though the company has developed a 5G modem, users will still have to wait on carriers to adopt 5G and set up the necessary infrastructure to utilise the new technology. However once mobile phones are able to utilise 5G networks they may be able to access cloud services faster than they can access flash storage which could prompt businesses to conduct even more of their operations in the cloud.

Sherif Hanna, a manager of technical marketing at Qualcomm, highlighted how 5G could change the nature of the way we use mobile devices, saying: “At those speeds, it completely transforms what happens on a mobile device."

Qualcomm will begin putting its new Snapdragon X50 chips in the hands of consumers during the second half of 2017. The company then plans to begin shipping phones that contain its 5G chips in early 2018, coinciding with the launch of the first 5G networks.

Setting up the infrastructure to enable 5G networks to operate will be a difficult task for telecoms as Qualcomm's Snapdragon X50 chip is designed to run on the 28GHz band. It will work using millimetre waves that have difficulties travelling over long distances and are unable to penetrate walls. In order to provide 5G service to their customers, mobile operators will have to build numerous base stations or “smart cells” to enable 5G service.

South Korea's KT is the first carrier that plans to launch a 5G network which it plans to have set up before the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

 

[maximuswarrior]

They make all these theoretical promises which turn out to be false. It is still going to take years before this becomes a reality. It is not just about the phone having faster specs. The network also needs to be able to cope with and sustain the traffic. This is where it has been lacking for years. 4G is an improvement over 3G, but certainly not as big as advertised initially. Congestion and network bandwidth are major issues. Not to mention, how expensive these subscriptions are going to be considering the bandwidth cap. Until network bandwidth and congestion issues aren't tackled having faster hardware is pointless. It is just a selling gimmick.

 

[Zain Malik]

ooopsss.

By the way KIRIN is much more better than qualcom

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

They make all these theoretical promises which turn out to be false. It is still going to take years before this becomes a reality. It is not just about the phone having faster specs. The network also needs to be able to cope with and sustain the traffic. This is where it has been lacking for years. 4G is an improvement over 3G, but certainly not as big as advertised initially. Congestion and network bandwidth are major issues. Not to mention, how expensive these subscriptions are going to be considering the bandwidth cap. Until network bandwidth and congestion issues aren't tackled having faster hardware is pointless. It is just a selling gimmick.

Well it depends upon where you are. 4G is certainly very fast where I am compared to 3G. (So fast you have to do a mad scramble to stop a big video from downloading or you'll max out your data plan). It is more the fault of local infrastructure being inadequate than the mobile phone chipmaker's fault.

 

[maximuswarrior]

Well it depends upon where you are. 4G is certainly very fast where I am compared to 3G. (So fast you have to do a mad scramble to stop a big video from downloading or you'll max out your data plan). It is more the fault of local infrastructure being inadequate than the mobile phone chipmaker's fault.

It is more than what you just said. Read my post again. The problem is also related to bandwidth capacity and congestion. This is indeed a shortcoming. It doesn't matter how quick a certain location is. Once the slots are occupied they obviously inadversely affect the limited bandwidth.

So you are admitting that better and quicker hardware won't have the desired affect unless the bandwidth issue is sorted out?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

So you are admitting that better and quicker hardware won't have the desired affect unless the bandwidth issue is sorted out?

You can't drive a Ferrari 200 mph down a highway with a traffic jam. That isn't Ferrari's fault. You can't blame them for it. If you want to drive fast all day you need a place where you can. Now if they claimed it can go 1000mph but it only does 200mph in the open then you have a case.

There's a bridge I cross on my daily commute. My download speed slows dramatically when I'm on it. The second I'm off it zooms up. It's all about infrastructure.

 

[maximuswarrior]

You can't drive a Ferrari 200 mph down a highway with a traffic jam. That isn't Ferrari's fault. You can't blame them for it. If you want to drive fast all day you need a place where you can. Now if they claimed it can go 1000mph but it only does 200mph in the open then you have a case.

There's a bridge I cross on my daily commute. My download speed slows dramatically when I'm on it. The second I'm off it zooms up. It's all about infrastructure.

That is what I'm also trying to explain to you. The current tech has certain limitations and bottlenecks. They need to be sorted out and having a Ferrari has no use at this moment. Certainly, old infrastructure might also be a limitation, but that might be more relevant for you in the US.