Intel has announced that it will speed up the launch of its 5G modem "by more than a half-year". It will have peak speeds of up to 6 Gbps:
2019 is shaping up to be a big year for 5G, and Intel — one of tech's biggest mobile players — has finally announced its plans for the next-generation network in the form of its new XMM 8160 5G modem. The XMM 8160 modem is set to be released to manufacturers sometime in the second half of 2019, with the first devices using the chip coming in early 2020.
Intel has big ambitions for the XMM 8160 5G. It envisions using it across phones, PCs, and broadband hubs, with peak speeds of up to 6 gigabits per second. The modem will support both the standalone and non-standalone specs for the 5G NR (New Radio) standard, as well as legacy support for 4G, 3G, and 2G networks all in one chipset. Additionally, Intel says that the modem will support both millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum as well as lower-band parts of the spectrum.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem will be available to device makers that want to introduce 5G support in 2019.
Also at EE Times and Engadget.
Previously: Apple Could Switch From Qualcomm to Intel and MediaTek for Modems
Intel Announces Development of 5G Modems (Due in 2019)
Related: Intel Integrates LTE Modem Into Custom Multi-Chip Module for New HP Laptop
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Wednesday November 14 2018, @02:47AM (1 child)
Now I can burn through my data plan in two minutes! WEEEE!
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Wednesday November 14 2018, @12:38PM
Interesting. I do the Google Fi family plan thing where I pay $10 per gigabyte so 6 gigabits/sec costs me ... I'm kinda sleepy doing this math, but about three grand per hour?
Of course the google fi has a cap of 10 gigs aka $100. Above the cap speeds collapse to 256K. So I get 80 gigabits which would take thirteen or so seconds and cost about $100 at 6 gigabit/sec then speeds drop to a bit more than dialup for the rest of the month.
Overall I'm not very interested. Also I can't think of a mainstream use requiring more than a couple megs/sec which makes many gigs/sec technically interesting while also totally useless.
Ironically I'm "old school" where I use wifi instead of data because in the old days data used to be slower than wifi, and everywhere I do I have wifi, so all I use data for is map/directions in the car and outdoor recreation (hike at the park or whatever, which is where we'd go to get away from phones not use them...)