Chip for the hand-held devices, that will support 5G as well as older technologies of 2G, 3G and 4G is coming out soon. Its release has been speed up by the INTEL. Here is the brief story re-posted from the telecompaper [emphasis added DL].
So, let’s be “ready” to scrap the old phones and buy the new, pricey ones, in 2020!
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Intel multimode 5G chip to ship in phones in 2020, with speeds of up to 6 Gbps
Tuesday 13 November 2018 | 09:39 CET | News
Intel has unveiled latest 5G modem, the Intel XMM 8160 5G, a multimode modem able to support peak speeds of up to 6 Gbps. The chip is expected to become available in the second half of next year and to ship in commercial devices in 2020. Intel says it accelerated the timing of the launch by over half a year.
Intel explained that the chip will support the new standard for 5G New Radio (NR), including standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) modes, as well as 4G, 3G and 2G legacy radios in a single chipset. It will let device manufacturers design smaller and more power-efficient devices, with no need for two separate modems for 5G and legacy connectivity. Finally, its technology supports new millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum as well as sub 6 GHz 5G NR support (including FDD and TDD bands from 600 MHz to 6 GHz).
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I still am not sure how much more complicated it is to design the RF for NSA; power consumption, RF design, etc. If it is not just a “show” to support early “5G” networks (i.e. NSA deployments), why not just wait 6-12 months and design SA-only handsets?
No no no no no no – I DON’T WANT IT!