MediaTek’s new modem chip, called the M80, will support what is called millimeter-wave technology, which is preferred by US carriers.<\/b>
\nTaiwanese semiconductor company MediaTek has a few 5G chipsets but none that supports the mmWave spectrum. But today MediaTek has announced its new M80 5G modem which combines mmWave and sub-6 GHz 5G technologies onto a single chip. The new chip can be used on smartphones, personal computers, and portable wifi hotspot devices. The millimeter-wave (mmWave) technology has gained traction in the U.S. \u201cAs 5G rollouts accelerate, mmWave is becoming increasingly important, especially in the US. MediaTek\u2019s new 5G modem integrates support for both sub-6 GHz and mmWave networks to address this opportunity and give device makers more flexibility,\u201d said JC Hsu, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of MediaTek’s Wireless Communications Business Unit. \u201cTo advance users\u2019 5G experiences, the new modem supports the latest global cellular standards and specifications and it packs MediaTek\u2019s signature power savings technologies along with ultra-fast speeds,\u201d he added. The Helio M80 is the successor to the Helio M70 modem found inside the Dimensity 1000 series. The M80 supports ultra-fast speeds on both non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) architectures, with a peak rate of 7.67 Gbps in the downlink and 3.76 Gbps in the uplink. The M80 also supports dual 5G SIM, dual 5G NSA and SA networks, and dual Voice over New Radio (VoNR) for more reliable connectivity. MediaTek\u2019s 5G modems are tailored for a range of devices, including smartphones, PCs, Mi-Fi hotspots, broadband customer premise equipment (CPE), industrial IoT applications and more. MediaTek\u2019s first generation 5G modem, the M70, is built into MediaTek\u2019s Dimensity series of power-efficient chipsets for 5G smartphones. The company\u2019s 5G portfolio also includes the MediaTek T700, which will power 5G PCs set to hit the market in 2021, along with MediaTek\u2019s T750 chipset for 5G fixed wireless access routers (FWA) and mobile hotspot devices. The M80 has been tested against industry standards and is expected to sample with customers later in 2021. The M80 integrates MediaTek\u2019s 5G UltraSave technologies which improve on the single-chip design to provide another layer of extensive power-saving enhancements. The M80 also integrates MediaTek\u2019s Dynamic Bandwidth Part (BWP) technology which is designed to optimize bandwidth use to accommodate light or heavy data throughput requests. Additionally, with the M80\u2019s Connected Mode DRX (C-DRX) technology the modem will regularly remain powered in connected standby even when there is no data activity, the company said.<\/p>\n