Intel steps up to the plate with its cellular connectivity offering for device makers in the 5G age. But it likely won’t see daylight until 2020.
Intel has announced its first modem to work on 5G networks, the XMM 8160. However, we will likely not see it put to marketable products until the first half of 2020.
The chipmaker touts a maximum downlink of 6Gbps and will support legacy 4G, 3G and 2G networks in standalone and non-standalone modes. In addition, it allows for simultaneous interoperability between 5G, which is based in part on LTE protocols, and 4G. Spectrum support ranges from 600MHz to the millimeter wave area.
It’s imagined that phones as well as larger forms of portable computing will take up the component.
Similarly, Taiwanese rival MediaTek announced its 5G modem just over a week ago, but has pegged commercialization for late 2019. Qualcomm had announced the Snapdragon X50 in October of last year and is seemingly on the verge of launching an integrated mobile chipset in time for the early 2019 timeframe.
Rumors claim, though, that Apple will adopt an Intel 5G modem for its iPhones in 2020.
