Led by telecommunications giants such as Verizon, AT&T, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Ericsson, the move to 5G is well and truly underway. This next-generation cellular networking standard promises an order of magnitude faster speeds than 4G LTE, though it will take a considerable amount of time and work until it is fully deployed and operational to its fullest potential.
We could be in for some wild stuff come 2030. But is this the 5G hype industrial complex all over again?
Networks spent years telling us that 5G would change everything. But the flashiest use cases are nowhere to be found — and the race to deploy the tech was costly in more ways than one.
Business Insider packs a lot into this 18-minute video on the “letdown” of 5G following years of industry promises of a many-splendored — and costly, mostly unrealized — future of robotic surgery and autonomous cars.
That’s according to Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark, after making the world’s first phone call that utilized a codec for Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) from the upcoming 5G Advanced standard to improve call quality with three-dimensional sound.
Nokia says the technology is “now becoming standardized” and that most phones with at least two microphones are capable of supporting it, but widespread availability may take a few years.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is seeking comment on how the US can support the development of the next generation wireless network. Although it’s a super early procedural step and it feels like we just got 5G, we could be at the halfway mark to a new generation — they tend to launch every decade, and it’s been about five years since 5G began rolling out.
That’s what US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said on 60 Minutes about the in-house 5G chip powering Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro:
What it tells me is the export controls are working because that chip is not nearly as good... We have the most sophisticated semiconductors in the world. China doesn’t.
Remember how T-Mobile won a bunch of mid-band spectrum in 2022? And then the FCC couldn’t actually grant the licenses? So Congress had to pass a bill allowing the FCC actually hand out the spectrum?
That really happened. Today, T-Mobile finally got access to over 7,000 licenses touching mainly rural areas across the country. The new spectrum will start coming online in the next few days.
But it is the modem-RF chip that’s likely to be paired with Qualcomm’s next-gen processor in 2025’s big Android flagships. The Snapdragon X80 5G modem is an update to the X75 and supports six-carrier aggregation, 5G Advanced standards, and certain satellite-based non-terrestrial communications. And there’s a bunch of new AI optimization, because it’s 2024 and of course there is.
Qualcomm’s Q1 2024 earnings presentation has wrapped up, with revenue of $9.9 billion and net income of $2.77 billion that’s up compared to last year.
But more notably, analyst Ben Bajarin points out that execs revealed Apple extended the licensing deal they signed in 2019 for an additional two years. It now runs through 2027, aligning with reports that Apple’s own 5G modem tech isn’t ready, while Samsung has added “several years” to a multiyear deal for Snapdragon chips in Galaxy phones.
LG showed off a “digital cockpit system display AR / MR platform AI and 5G telematics technology” AlphaWare concept at CES today. It includes its Automotive Content Platform, which puts LG software on screens throughout cars, and uses AI to do things like recognize drivers or detect when kids have fallen asleep.
The company says the software is based on webOS and integrates with automakers’ infotainment systems.
The company’s “film-type antenna” will work either attached to glass or built into it and supports 5G, Wi-Fi, and navigation using GNSS. LG says this will free carmakers from designing and building custom housing for traditional antennas.
LG didn’t say in its announcement when the tech will appear in cars, but it plans to show it off at CES in January.
