Qualcomm to work with more than 30 companies on faster 5G variant

Chunghwa Telecom Co

28/06/2021 11:15

By Stephen Nellis
    June 28 (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc  QCOM.O  on Monday said it
expects to work with more than 30 carriers and
telecommunications gear providers who have committed to using
the faster variant of 5G networking technology.
    Fifth-generation networks use a combination of technologies.
The lower frequency version, called "sub-6" by industry
insiders, travels well over long distances but is only somewhat
faster that previous networks. The fastest version of 5G uses
higher frequencies and is called "millimeter wave" by Qualcomm,
the world's biggest supplier of wireless data chips for smart
phones, though different carriers brand it with their own trade
names, such as Verizon's  VZ.N  "5G Ultra Wideband." 
    The millimeter wave technology is most useful in dense areas
where many people are trying to connect to mobile networks at
once, such as sports arenas where many fans are trying to stream
video to their social networks. Qualcomm helped develop the
standards that make millimeter wave devices compatible around
the world, and phone makers such as Apple Inc  AAPL.O  have
tapped Qualcomm's chips to gain access to the technology. 
    But handsets can only take advantage of what carriers offer.
Qualcomm said on Monday that more than 30 carriers and gear
makers are now committing to using the faster technology in some
form. 
    Among them are China's China Unicom  0762.HK , Chunghwa
Telecom Company Ltd  2412.TW  and Fibocom Wireless
Inc 300638.SZ , as well as Germany's Deutsche Telekom  DTEGn.DE 
and Australia's Telstra Corp  TLS.AX . 
    Qualcomm's chips have a lead over rivals such as MediaTek
Inc  2454.TW  in millimeter wave technology, so it could get a
sales boost if the technology becomes more widely adopted.
    "We actually haven't see a whole lot of millimeter wave
outside U.S. and Japan, and some limited deployments in Europe
and Korea so far, but that's expanding quite rapidly," Durga
Malladi, Qualcomm's senior vice president and general manager of
5G technologies, said at a press briefing.

 (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco
Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
 ((Stephen.Nellis@thomsonreuters.com; (415) 344-4934;))