Qualcomm to work with more than 40 companies on faster 5G variant (updated)

Chunghwa Telecom Co

28/06/2021 18:30

(Recasts headline, first paragraph with number of carriers)
    By Stephen Nellis
    June 28 (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc  QCOM.O  said on Monday it
expects to work with more than 40 carriers and
telecommunications gear providers that 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 uses higher
frequencies and is called "millimeter wave" by Qualcomm, the
world's biggest supplier of wireless data chips for smart
phones.
    Different carriers brand it with their own trade names, such
as Verizon's  VZ.N  "5G Ultra Wideband." 
    Qualcomm said at the Mobile World Congress event in
Barcelona that more than 40 carriers and gear makers have 
committed 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 . 
    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. 
    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 before the event.

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