Qualcomm participated in the deluge of 5G news emanating from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Oh, yes, I still wish I were there. There were probably not enough contacts to justify the trip, though. Here are the five pieces of news I’ve received.

  • 5G Advanced-Ready Modem-RF System
  • Globally Certified Module Reference Designs
  • Dell Technologies For 5G Open RAN
  • Schneider Electric and CapGemini for Industrial 5G
  • Simplify and Accelerate IoT

World’s First 5G Advanced-Ready Modem-RF System

Highlights:

  • Snapdragon X75 5G Modem-RF System sets the benchmark for smartphone connectivity with the world’s first 5G Advanced-ready Modem-RF System
  • Snapdragon X75 is also designed to drive the next stage of 5G evolution in all key verticals including vehicles, PCs, Industrial IoT and more.
  • Powered by Snapdragon X75, Qualcomm Fixed Wireless Access Platform Gen 3 is the world’s first fully integrated 5G Advanced-ready fixed wireless access platform for 5G fixed internet access with an aim to bridge the digital divide.

Snapdragon X75 is the first Modem-RF System with a dedicated hardware tensor accelerator, Qualcomm® 5G AI Processor Gen 2, enabling over 2.5 times better AI performance compared to Gen 1 and introduces Qualcomm® 5G AI Suite Gen 2 with new AI-powered optimizations to achieve better speeds, coverage, mobility, link robustness and location accuracy. The Qualcomm 5G AI Suite features advanced AI-based capabilities including world’s first sensor-assisted mmWave beam management and AI-enhanced GNSS Location Gen 2, which uniquely optimize Snapdragon X75 for superior 5G performance.

Globally Certified Module Reference Designs

Highlights:

  • Snapdragon X75, X72, and X35 5G M.2 and LGA Reference Designs aim to make 5G readily available for various product segments such as FWA, compute, gaming, and more.
  • Globally certified turnkey reference designs optimize development costs to enable faster time to market.
  • Reference designs are currently sampling with commercialization starting in the second half of 2023. 

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced the Snapdragon X75, X72, and X35 5G M.2 and LGA Reference Designs, which expand on the previous announcement from February 2022. Leveraging the latest, most robust features of Snapdragon X75, X72, and X35 5G Modem-RF Systems, this product portfolio offers OEMs a turnkey solution, globally certified to work with 5G networks from all key mobile network operators worldwide, thus allowing to develop the next generation 5G devices and bring consumers a wide spectrum of 5G-enabled devices from PCs to XR to gaming, and beyond.

These new reference designs integrate modem, transceivers, and RF front-end in a single and compact board, allowing manufacturers to quickly and cost-effectively include the capabilities of the novel Snapdragon Modem-RF Systems into new products, driving 5G adoption into a wide spectrum of devices. Snapdragon X75 and X72 5G Reference Designs support both sub-6 and mmWave bands, while Snapdragon X35 5G Reference Designs are the first to support 5G NR-Light (3GPP Release 17 RedCap).

Key features of the portfolio of reference designs include:

  • These turnkey reference design solutions are optimized for performance and certified to work with 5G networks from all key mobile network operators globally. The Snapdragon X75, X72, and X35 5G Reference Designs are available in M.2 and LGA form factors.
  • Providing design and certification support, OEMs, ODMs, and device manufacturers can develop global 5G module solutions with sub-6 and mmWave at a fraction of the cost available today by saving on engineering time, cost, and effort required to enable 5G connectivity using discrete cellular components.
  • Enables OEMs, ODMs, and device manufacturers to leverage Qualcomm Technologies’ reference designs to accelerate end-product sampling and launch timelines while putting 5G in the hands of the consumer quicker.

Qualcomm and Dell Technologies to Accelerate 5G Open RAN Design and Deployments

  • Companies aim to develop a virtualized distributed unit (vDU) solution to accelerate efficient, high-capacity deployments of next-generation 5G networks.
  • Dell PowerEdge servers purpose-built for open telecom networks and the edge, combined with the Qualcomm X100 5G RAN Accelerator Card with commercial-grade Layer 1 (L1) software, aim to provide a high-performing, cost-effective and energy-efficient solution for OEMs and operators deploying virtualized and Open RAN solutions. 

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced plans to collaborate with Dell Technologies to develop a next-generation, 5G vDU, integrating the Qualcomm X100 5G RAN Accelerator Card into Dell PowerEdge servers. The solution will help usher in the next wave of digital transformation and proliferate Open RAN deployments globally. The companies plan to simplify deployments and help lower total cost of ownership by delivering high-performance, O-RAN compliant, energy-efficient, virtualized, cloud-native 5G solutions.

Schneider Electric and Capgemini Collaborate to Accelerate 5G Industrial Automation, Supported by Qualcomm

  • The companies have customized an innovative end-to-end 5G Private Network solution with the potential of transforming industrial automation systems.
  • Through highly advanced virtual connectivity, the system has the ability to be deployed across diverse industrial and logistics sites.

Schneider Electric, Capgemini, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced their collaboration on a first-of-its-kind 5G-enabled automated hoisting solution. The companies have joined efforts on design and installation of the solution at Schneider Electric’s hoisting lab in Grenoble, France. Replacing wired connections with wireless and unifying existing wireless connections from Schneider Electric’s industrial automation system, the 5G Private Network solution demonstrates how it can simplify and optimize digital technology deployment at scale across industrial sites — from steel plants to ports.

The 5G private network hoisting solution:

  • Replaces wired and other wireless connections for several critical PLC control flows and time sensitive video flows powering numerous use cases
  • Operates in 3.8GHz radio frequency band, with an enterprise-grade Athonet core network and Airspan Small Cells using the Qualcomm® FSM™100 5G RAN Platform, significantly improving connectivity performance and enabling new use cases
  • Beyond its core industrial functions, the Private 5G automated hoisting system can now be leveraged to deliver additional digital use cases, such as augmented operators enabled by XR (eXtended Reality) and wearable devices.

Qualcomm Expands Offering to Simplify and Accelerate IoT Across Multiple Industries

  • Drives innovation across edge devices and cloud by offering silicon and software services for functions commonly required for digital transformation such as location and condition monitoring
  • Addresses the fragmented nature of digital transformation use-cases by enabling developers through API-first architectures and user-friendly tools with an ecosystem of hardware and software partners
  • Expands the Company’s traditional hardware business model with the introduction of ongoing IoT services
  • Qualcomm Aware will initially target real-time supply chain visibility and intelligence
  • Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today unveiled the Qualcomm Aware Platform, which empowers developers and enterprises to harness real-time information and data insights to accelerate their digital transformation programs.

The Qualcomm Aware advantage rests upon three key pillars: (1) technology leadership; (2) Enablement of an expansive ecosystem of hardware and software partners; and (3) an API-first architecture and developer-friendly tools that enable interoperability with partner clouds and leading enterprise software tools.

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