Early Developments in 5G Chip Technology
The first 5G chipsets began development in 2015 when major tech companies started researching new cellular networking technologies that would power the 5G standard. Qualcomm was among the early leaders in 5G chip R&D with its Snapdragon X50 modem that was unveiled in early 2018. This first 5G modem was designed to support 5G NR sub-6 GHz frequencies and achieved download speeds of up to 5 Gbps in initial testing. While impressive, the X50 modem was still in the experimental phase and not suitable for commercial devices. It helped Qualcomm gain valuable insights into the design challenges of 5G that would inform its future 5G chip roadmap. Other early 5G chip developers included Intel with its 5G modem named "Monarch" and Huawei with its Balong 5000 chipset released in early 2018 touted as the world's first commercial 5G modem. Most of these initial 5G chips supported only sub-6 GHz 5G networks and were primarily targeted for fixed wireless routers and CPE devices.
First Wave of 5G Chipsets for Smartphones
The second wave of 5G Chipset arrived in 2019 when mobile chipmakers launched their first system-on-chips (SoCs) integrated with 5G modems for smartphones. Qualcomm led the way with the Snapdragon 855 mobile platform paired with its separate X50 5G modem. This was among the first commercially available 5G smartphone solutions and powered many of the earliest 5G handsets in North America. Drawing from previous learnings, the Snapdragon 855 brought improved power efficiency and connectivity speeds upwards of 2 Gbps. Samsung also entered the 5G smartphone space with its Exynos 9820 SoC built in collaboration with Intel. This integrated modem on the same die with CPU, GPU and other components to help drive down costs and size. While initial 5G support was sub-6 GHz focused, newer wave two offerings like the Snapdragon 865 included emerging mmWave frequencies as well starting to deliver gigabit 5G performance. These first generation 5G smartphone chips helped drive the initial wave of commercial devices and network buildouts in 2019-2020 across regions like Korea, China and Europe.
Complexities of Multiband 5G Support
Supporting the wide range of 5G frequencies and combinations of low, mid and high-band 5G presents unique technical challenges. Early standalone 5G networks relied heavily on lower frequency sub-6 GHz bands, making for a simpler chip design. However, as carriers sought to fully maximize 5G's speed and capacity, they turned to mmWave and combination networks that aggregate bands. This requires 5G chipsets to simultaneously support vastly different frequency ranges from sub-1 GHz up to millions of megahertz. It also introduces the need for complex multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna architectures to maximize throughput across bands. To address these difficulties, the third generation of 5G chips integrated both modem and antenna tuning capabilities directly onto the system-on-chip. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 and 768G introduced the world's first 5G modem-RF system built on a single piece of silicon. This "5G Modem-RF" system reduced the footprint while expanding support for key global frequency bands up to 3.8 GHz along with initial mmWave capabilities. Competitors like Samsung's Exynos 1080 and MediaTek's Dimensity 1000 series soon followed suit to deliver truly global 5G multi-band support.
Multi-Gigabit 5G Performance With New Chips
As 5G networks rapidly expanded throughout 2021-2022, there was an increasing focus on maximizing real-world throughputs for both clients and infrastructure. This relied on the latest 5G chips delivering significantly faster speeds across all operating frequencies. Following its earlier Exynos 5123 introduction, Samsung launched the Exynos 2100 SoC to power the Galaxy S21 lineup. By refining its 5nm manufacturing process, it boosted peak 5G downlink rates to 7.35 Gbps through enhanced Multi-User MIMO and massive carrier aggregation. MediaTek then launched the Dimensity 1200 and 9000 chips (the latter built on a 4nm node) with stated capabilities of 7.67 Gbps through integration of 180MHz of spectrum and 256QAM encoding. However, Qualcomm maintained its leadership position with 2021's Snapdragon 888, which could reach speeds over 7.5 Gbps through use of 8 carrier aggregation and 2.5GHz spectrum. Its X65 5G Modem further pushed the boundaries, delivering peak mmWave rates of 10 Gbps using four component carriers at once. These third generation 5G chipsets are helping unleash the full multi-gigabit potential of cutting-edge 5G networks for both consumers and enterprises.
Continued Evolution Towards 6G On The Horizon
With 5G networks and chipsets rapidly maturing, researchers have already started exploring what comes next beyond 5G. Often referred to as 6G, these next-generation wireless technologies aim to dramatically increase data rates, improve latency and support completely new immersive applications that require very high-speed, low-latency connections like augmented/virtual reality. While still in early research stages, envisioned 6G capabilities include data rates over 1 Tbps, latencies below 100 microseconds and flexible system integration through techniques like visible light communications, open radio access networks and digital twin networks for IoT devices. Major chip developers are funding 6G programs looking at areas such as terahertz (THz) wireless, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces and AI-driven cooperative wireless networks. For example, Qualcomm has committed $1 billion to 6G development over the next decade through its Qualcomm University Rapid Innovation (QUrIoS) Program. Samsung has also earmarked $240 million for its "Korean 6G Summit" to develop technologies that could bring 6G commercialization by 2028. While the 6G standard will likely emerge after 2030, chipmakers are already laying the foundation today to drive the future evolution of cellular communications beyond unprecedented 5G capabilities.
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Money Singh is a seasoned content writer with over four years of experience in the market research sector. Her expertise spans various industries, including food and beverages, biotechnology, chemical and materials, defense and aerospace, consumer goods, etc. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/money-singh-590844163)
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