Qualcomm Announces First Fully-Integrated 5G Millimeter Wave Antenna Module

[MacRumors]

Qualcomm today announced the launch of what it says are the world's first fully-integrated 5G millimeter wave and sub-6 GHz RF modules for smartphones and other devices, with the new 5G mmWave antenna combining a 5G millimeter wave radio, power amplifier for signal boosting, and antenna array, all in a package that's small enough to fit on a fingertip.

Qualcomm's QTM052 mmWave antenna module family and its QPM56xx sub-6GHz module family are designed to pair with the previously announced Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem to pave the way for smartphones and other devices able to take advantage of 5G networks.

"Today's announcement of the first commercial 5G NR mmWave antenna modules and sub-6 GHz RF modules for smartphones and other mobile devices represents a major milestone for the mobile industry. Qualcomm Technologies' early investment in 5G has allowed us to deliver to the industry a working mobile mmWave solution that was previously thought unattainable, as well as a fully-integrated sub-6 GHz RF solution.

The new 5G mmWave antenna modules are designed to fit in the bezel of a smartphone and the idea is to put multiple antenna modules (up to four) into different locations in the bezel so a 5G signal can be received even if one of the antennas is covered up by a hand or blocked by something in the environment, as is common with the way millimeter wave signals work.

This design also boosts signal that's received, with the device able to choose the module receiving the strongest signal and swap between them seamlessly for a reliable 5G connection. Up to 800MHz of bandwidth in the 26.5-29.5 GHz, 27.5-28.35 GHz, and 37-40 GHz mmWave bands is supported.

In technical terms, QTM052 mmWave antenna modules support advanced beam forming, beam steering, and beam tracking technologies for improved range and reliability.

Millimeter wave technology is ideal for dense urban areas and crowded indoor environments, but broad 5G coverage requires the sub-6GHz spectrum bands, which is what Qualcomm's new QPM56xx RF module family addresses. This includes the new QPM5650, QPM5651, QDM5650, and QDM5652 modules.

Qualcomm says the first 5G millimeter wave antenna modules are being shipped out to customers this week, and the first crop of devices able to take advantage of 5G networks will be released late this year.

Mobile hotspots are likely to be the first accessories to include Qualcomm's technology, but the company says that we can expect Android smartphones with this 5G millimeter wave antenna during the first half of 2019. 5G devices require 5G networks, which carriers are working on.

T-Mobile is building out its 5G network with plans to roll it out to 30 cities this year, AT&T plans to deploy 5G to customers in a dozen cities in 2018, and Verizon plans to activate fixed 5G services in Sacramento in late 2018, with a mobile 5G service to launch approximately six months later.

As announced at Mobile World Congress, Qualcomm is partnering with more than 20 electronics manufacturers who will use its 5G technology, including Asus, Fujitsu, Nokia, HTC, LG, Oppo, ZTE, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Vivo, and more.

Apple is not a known Qualcomm partner and it is not clear if the two companies will work out their differences given the intense legal battle that is going on between the two. When asked whether Apple would potentially choose this technology for future iPhones, Qualcomm said it was not able to comment on that.

Little is known about Apple's 5G plans at the current time, but November rumors suggested Apple was "leaning heavily" towards using Intel's 5G modems in future iPhones, with Apple engineers already working with Intel on 5G technology.

That report, from Fast Company, suggested at the time that Apple's discussions with Qualcomm have been "limited." Other reports have suggested Apple is considering eliminating Qualcomm chips from future iPhones and iPads, and this year, it looks like Intel will be supplying the majority of chips needed for the 2018 iPhone lineup.

Article Link: Qualcomm Announces First Fully-Integrated 5G Millimeter Wave Antenna Module

 

[nathan_reilly]

there are such disparities between these touted download speeds and what I get on verizon's LTE that this doesn't even seen to matter to me!

 

[zahuh]

"Hi Qualcomm...
umm...it's Tim...
I know I haven't paid you in a few years but...
can I get dat 5G?"

 

[vaxes]

Hey how about we get 100% coverage around the whole country first before we move beyond LTE?

AE

 

[agsystems]

Pretty neat stuff...I presumed Intel its not getting this technology. I think Apple will not need to crawl back to Qualcomm - otherwise they will fall too far behind.

 

[Glideslope]

Pretty neat stuff...I presumed Intel its not getting this technology. I think Apple will not need to crawl back to Qualcomm - otherwise they will fall too far behind.

Never going to happen. The specs on these are irrelevant as no network in the US is remotely close to handling it. .....and won't be for years.......

 

[I7guy]

5g lets one burn through their data allowance in seconds. What’s the use unless your data plan is unlimited and non-throttled?

 

[Pupi]

4G almost feels short-lived... especially for a technology named “Long Term Evolution”. Granted, it will stay as the baseline in many places for ages to come, and rightfully so - 4G is truly amazing technology that allowed the real mobile broadband breakthrough.

 

[DNichter]

I trust Apple will have a proper response to this in their devices, through Qualcomm or otherwise. It isn't anything I am particularly worried about at the moment considering it's probably a solid year away.

 

[Pupi]

5g lets one burn through their data allowance in seconds. What’s the use unless your data plan is unlimited and non-throttled?

Your phone won’t start to load all the websites and videos you consume at once, as soon is it gets 5G. You will use the exact same data as in 4G as long as you don’t change your web usage habits. The pages and videos will just load sligthly faster.

 

[I7guy]

I trust Apple will have a proper response to this in their devices, through Qualcomm or otherwise. It isn't anything I am particularly worried about at the moment considering it's probably a solid year away.

3g to 4g or lte was a big deal. I don’t view this as a big deal, considering the state of the cell phone plans in North America.

 

[MoreRumors?]

Hey how about we get 100% coverage around the whole country first before we move beyond LTE?

AE

Yes, that's still an ongoing issue which affects mainly the non-major cities. Until they improve it, we can't fully appreciate using 5G.

 

[DeltaSVO]

4G almost feels short-lived... especially for a technology named “Long Term Evolution”. Granted, it will stay as the baseline in many places for ages to come, and rightfully so - 4G is truly amazing technology that allowed the real mobile broadband breakthrough.

Pretty sure it will be around for a LONG, long time. Ukraine, for instance, only *just* started implementing 4G. It's mind-boggling, the coverage around Kiev is ok, but the rest of the country isn't even worth mentioning. Scary when it's 2018 and SIM cards are being sold and marketing as "4G-ready". And this is a country in Europe...

 

[NinjaHERO]

Whatever makes reception better. I'm all for it. I travel through California for work. I went from dropping about 30 calls a day on ATT to only 15 calls a day on Verizon. Insane to me that in 2018 I'm still having that much trouble keeping a cellular signal.

 

[MoreRumors?]

If Intel's 5G doesn't perform as well as Qualcomm, well, Apple may be calling them.

With the 5G in the horizon, there is no point in the network providers to brag about this new technology until it is available across the U.S. and not just mainly in large cities. I've noticed the service in smaller towns in no way compares to large cities as well as driving on interstate highways.

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

In my opinion, the power of 5G does not lie with mobile networks.
It lies with fixed 5G to displace traditional cable providers from their hold on home networks.

An aggressive deployment of fixed 5G will provide relief to those, like me, that are tied to a city's cable duopoly.

Maybe not this decade -- but definitely by next one.
For now, I couldn't care less about 5G on my iPhone. And my iPad is only WiFi-capable anyway -- and so are our Macs and Rokus (obviously).

So, that is that.

 

[TroyBoy30]

5g lets one burn through their data allowance in seconds. What’s the use unless your data plan is unlimited and non-throttled?

so going to google.com will all of the sudden take more data? ive never understood this comment. you won't use data faster. your pages will simply load faster.

att just rolled out 5g here, so im ready

 

[ksec]

Pretty sure it will be around for a LONG, long time. Ukraine, for instance, only *just* started implementing 4G. It's mind-boggling, the coverage around Kiev is ok, but the rest of the country isn't even worth mentioning. Scary when it's 2018 and SIM cards are being sold and marketing as "4G-ready". And this is a country in Europe...

How much are 4G Data Plan and 3G Data Plan? on Average?

 

[Baymowe335]

This is a lot like 4K. Very minimal uses in real world situations and other older technologies not able to utilize the new tech.

TV is broadcasted in 1080i and people with 4K TVs say it's 4K.

 

[ksec]

4G almost feels short-lived... especially for a technology named “Long Term Evolution”. Granted, it will stay as the baseline in many places for ages to come, and rightfully so - 4G is truly amazing technology that allowed the real mobile broadband breakthrough.

Well, I think people needs to understand where 4G and and 5G are going first. So 4G isn't Really short lived.

When most of the carrier said 5G, what they really meant was mmWave 5G, 28Ghz+. The usage of mmWave 5G, 3GPP Rel 15, meant all the tech in Rel 14, as well as improvement for LTE in rel 15 are group under this 5G label. That is Massive MIMO, LAA etc. All these combined will hugely improve LTE Network Capacity, For FDD based Network, that is 3x - 5x increase. For TDD Network, that is up to 10x.

So LTE will likely live on for very long time with many improvement coming in, carrier likely want to move off 3G and 2G asap, or at least make them uses a little spectrum as possible. Sub 5Ghz 5G Spectrum will likely settle on 3.5Ghz Worldwide. But that is at least 2020 time frame.

 

[Pupi]

Pretty sure it will be around for a LONG, long time. Ukraine, for instance, only *just* started implementing 4G. It's mind-boggling, the coverage around Kiev is ok, but the rest of the country isn't even worth mentioning. Scary when it's 2018 and SIM cards are being sold and marketing as "4G-ready". And this is a country in Europe...

Yeah I guess that is very true.

In my opinion, the power of 5G does not lie with mobile networks.
It lies with fixed 5G to displace traditional cable providers from their hold on home networks.

An aggressive deployment of fixed 5G will provide relief to those, like me, that are tied to a city's cable duopoly.

Maybe not this decade -- but definitely by next one.
For now, I couldn't care less about 5G on my iPhone. And my iPad is only WiFi-capable anyway -- and so are our Macs and Rokus (obviously).

So, that is that.

4G already started that disruption, as my home network is 4G-powered and has been for 2-3 years. Where I live, it’s just more cost-effective than paying to install fiber. There are a few drawbacks but nothing dramatic and I can even stream 4K. Still, can’t wait for the 5G improvements especially on latency.

Well, I think people needs to understand where 4G and and 5G are going first. So 4G isn't Really short lived.

When most of the carrier said 5G, what they really meant was mmWave 5G, 28Ghz+. The usage of mmWave 5G, 3GPP Rel 15, meant all the tech in Rel 14, as well as improvement for LTE in rel 15 are group under this 5G label. That is Massive MIMO, LAA etc. All these combined will hugely improve LTE Network Capacity, For FDD based Network, that is 3x - 5x increase. For TDD Network, that is up to 10x.

So LTE will likely live on for very long time with many improvement coming in, carrier likely want to move off 3G and 2G asap, or at least make them uses a little spectrum as possible. Sub 5Ghz 5G Spectrum will likely settle on 3.5Ghz Worldwide. But that is at least 2020 time frame.

Damn, I won’t pretend to have understood everything, but still, thanks!

 

[Konceptz804]

I have yet to see android do one thing better than iOS, and this is coming from someone who used to praise Android like no tomorrow.....

 

[usurffree]

In my opinion, the power of 5G does not lie with mobile networks.
It lies with fixed 5G to displace traditional cable providers from their hold on home networks.

An aggressive deployment of fixed 5G will provide relief to those, like me, that are tied to a city's cable duopoly.

Maybe not this decade -- but definitely by next one.
For now, I couldn't care less about 5G on my iPhone. And my iPad is only WiFi-capable anyway -- and so are our Macs and Rokus (obviously).

So, that is that.

I'm a rural consumer. AT&T offers DSL 6.0 as an option, though the real world speeds fall short, and a local cable company is the other option and they are down 15% of the time. Not pretty.

About a year ago when AT&T jumped into the "unlimited game" on Cell Plans, they started offering a home phone base that you can throw on the unlimited plan for a $20 add-on line fee. It's a wireless router, but has Ethernet for you to choose you're own router if you want. It falls under the same rules, Unlimited in theory gets throttled after 22 gigs when the network is heavy. I consume 30x-50x that earth month, and have seen very little throttle.

I have 6 Apple TV's that pull Directv Now in for $10 a month, caught the grandfathering on that deal. So I'm happy as a lard that my complete consumption of data, media, tv,....comes across cellular.

Is this early model perfect? No. But I do look forward the more competition coming through the airwaves to battle against these old land based technologies.

 

[lunarworks]

Hey how about we get 100% coverage around the whole country first before we move beyond LTE?

AE

Here's the problem:

 

[DailySlow]

Oh Lordy. I am st the ending day of an 8K road trip E-W across US then N to Canada and W-E. Data and cell has been all over. About ⅓ has been 3G. The prairies of Canada varied from great 4G in the middle of nowhere (suspect need for speed on modern corpo farms) to no coverage.
No bloody way is 5G more than a misty-eyed dream in less than (full coverage 4GLTE) 5 years.