The first commercially announced 5G modem solution is here. Welcome to the next generation of mobile broadband communications!
Worried that you won’t have a 5G compatible phone by the time 5G gets launched? Qualcomm has solved that problem for you.
Their new modem has allowed for partnerships with companies like Asus, Fujitsu Limited, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and others to make sure that your phone can use 5G by the time carriers bring it to the market.
The pressure of implementing 5G across the spectrum by 2019 has been stressful for mobile carries in India. The original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are aiming to commercialise 5G devices for the sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum starting in 2019.
Why the hype around 5G?
It’s not just about having faster speeds on your phone but about the quality of connectivity. No longer will you have to wander around looking for public Wi-Fi just to get clarity on your video call or download something from the cloud. It will even enable the use of always-on PCs.
Ensuring multi-gigabit per-second data transfer rates with lower latency makes it critical for virtural reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
Here’s a full list of the OEMs that have partnered up with Qualcomm: ASUS Fujitsu HMD (Nokia) HTC inseego LG NetComm Netgear OPPO Sharp Sierra Wireless Sony Telit Vivo WNC Wingtec Xiaomi ZTE
But here’s the thing. Even though 5G will be available on phones by 2019,5G itself won’t be available in India till 2022. Wanna know more about 5G? Samsung has already partnered with Verizon. A cautionary tale about 5G. Maybe it’s not all that it’s hyped up to be.