Qualcomm is moving forward with its new architecture. Qualcomm Technologies, a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, has introduced three new products, including the first commercially announced gigabit-class LTE chipset for fiber-like LTE, which potentially supports up to 1 GBPS download speeds.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon X16 LTE modem can deliver fiber-like LTE Category 16 download speeds, and is built on a 14nm FinFET transistor process.
Qualcomm built the new architecture in order to increase its scalability using modular components and common software. They want these products to be able to evolve to enable high-speed broadband for mobile devices, low-power connectivity for Internet of Things devices, and high-power streaming of 360-degree virtual reality content.
The Snapdragon X16 “blur[s] the lines between wired and wireless broadband,” Qualcomm Technologies executive VP Cristiano Amon said in a press release. “[It] marks an important step toward 5G as we enable deeper unlicensed spectrum integration with LTE and more advanced MIMO techniques to support growing data consumption.”
The new modem is also compatible with the global LTE standard, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), and is the first commercially announced LTE Advanced Pro modem.
It is designed to reach gigabit-class LTE speeds using the same amount of spectrum as Category 9 LTE devices, using carrier aggregation and 4×4 MIMO to receive 10 unique streams of data through three 20 MHz carriers. Being compatible with both LAA and LTE-U standards means that the amount of licensed spectrum can be reduced to 40 MHz or less, expanding the number of operators that can use it.
Along with the Snapdragon X16, Qualcomm is pairing the RF360 QET4100 Envelope Tracker, which provides increased thermal efficiency and is the first 40MHz envelope tracking solution offered for LTE FDD and LTE TDD.
At the same time, Qualcomm also announced the WTR5975 RF transceiver, which is the world’s first single-chip RF IC to support Gigabit-class LTE, LTE-U, and LAA with 5 GHz unlimited band support. It supports 4x downlink CA, 2x uplink CA and all 3GPP-approved bands in a single chip, presenting a smaller footprint than previous generations.
Samples of all three products are available now, with a commercial release expected in late 2016.
