5G Commercialization Accelerated

As standards on 5G mobile telecommunications were set earlier than expected, Qualcomm announced that the company would launch a chipset that supports 5G mobile telecommunications and a 5G smartphone loaded with the chipset. Major chip makers, smartphone makers and mobile carriers around the world plan to take the lead in the market by commercializing 5G ahead of others.

On May 14, according to industry sources, Durga Prasad Malladi, a senior vice president of mobile chipset maker Qualcomm, said in a telephone interview, "5G smartphones will be launched within this year." In the first place, 5G smartphones were expected to come out at the beginning of next year. However, in December last year, 3GPP, the international cooperation organization for mobile telecommunication service standardization, confirmed standards on 5G non-standard alone (NSA) which uses 4G and 5G networks after mixing them so it is expected that 5G smartphones will be launched earlier. .

5G smartphones to be released this year are expected to support speed of up to 4.5Gbps.
5G smartphones to be released this year are expected to support speed of up to 4.5Gbps.

The 5G chipset, which will be released by Qualcomm for the first time this year, is also based on the 5G NSA standards. Qualcomm succeeded in the world’s first 5G data telecommunications using the Snapdragon X50, a 5G Modem chip for mobile devices, last October. When Qualcomm makes 5G chipsets, smartphone makers are expected to supply 5G smartphones loaded with the 5G chipsets. It is still unclear what smartphone will be launched as the first smartphone with the 5G chipset. However, Qualcomm has been working closely with Samsung Electronics. Whenever Qualcomm developed the latest chipset for a smartphone, Samsung Electronics loaded it into its premium smartphones many times.

5G smartphones to be released this year are expected to support speed of up to 4.5Gbps. At the moment, 4G can realize download speed of up to 1Gbps. The Korean mobile telecommunication industry is also putting a spur to the commercialization of 5G services.

In Korea, mobile carriers are scheduled to launch commercial services next March after the 5G frequency auction in June. In February of last year, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, and KT demonstrated a 5G data telecommunication service in Korea after establishing a test network at the Samsung Electronics Research Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province with 5G NSA-based base station equipment and test terminals.

"Qualcomm's decision to release the 5G chipset this year was made due to demand from mobile operators and handset manufacturers," an industry expert said. "This may advance the overall 5G commercialization schedule."

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