Qualcomm has announced new Radio Access Network chips and software products that will give wireless carriers access to inexpensive hardware for setting up 5G infrastructure. The company’s stock is up by 43% this year as investors are convinced that its mobile chips will benefit from the investment in 5G.
Qualcomm to move to 5G infrastructure market with its Radio Access Network chips
The new chips are designed to go into the base stations, packed with antennas and chips that the wireless carriers place across cities to deliver the internet. These products are Qualcomm’s way of moving to the 5G infrastructure market, which is estimated to be worth $8 billion this year.
Unlike Nokia, Ericsson, or Huawei, Qualcomm won’t produce any base stations or infrastructure. It will be involved in selling baseband, processing, and RF chips which once combined with the software will help build virtualized radio access networks. It will let carriers to not commit to a single provider and select base station components on a part-by-part basis.
RAN products also support various bands of 5G. It includes the speedy millimeter-wave connections that need more base stations. They have a short-range and slow sub-6 millimeter flavor that could be broadcasted over wider regions.
President Amon says likely customers could be base station makers
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Qualcomm’s President Cristiano Amon said that this is an incremental investment and would help in expanding into the 5G infrastructure market. Amon did not name any companies that would be planning to use their RAN products. Although, he said that the likely customers could be existing base station makers and new companies that want to build cellular infrastructure. Its customers will receive engineering samples in 2022.
With this announcement, Qualcomm becomes a major American company making a considerable investment in the cellular infrastructure market which, is currently a hot topic in the United States and Australia.
The United States wants 5G infrastructure built by American firms, says White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow
It is owing to the ban on Huawei’s gear from 5G in these countries due to national security reasons. In an interview in February, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow stated that the US want 5G infrastructure that is built by American firms.