Qualcomm has stiff competition. Yesterday, giant Chinese phone and chipset maker Huawei announced the Balong 5000, a 5G modem that outpaces Qualcomm's X50 in a range of ways, and sets itself up to be China's premier 5G solution.
According to Huawei's presentation, the Balong 5000 has several advantages over Qualcomm's current X50 modem. First of all, it's multi-mode, supporting 2G through 5G networks. The X50 is a single-mode modem, and must work with another modem—most likely a Qualcomm X24—to access a full range of networks.
The Balong 5000 also supports double the speeds at frequencies under 6GHz compared to the X50; it supports FDD spectrum at sub-6GHz frequencies; and it supports standalone 5G systems. This all sounds impressive, but it makes more sense in the context of what's being implemented where.
The US, China, and Europe are all taking different approaches to their early 5G buildouts. AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint are all using primarily TDD spectrum rather than FDD, and AT&T and Verizon are focusing their early messaging on millimeter-wave spectrum. None of the initial US systems will be standalone. That all jibes well with the X50's strengths.
In Europe and China, though, the story is different. Europe is starting with sub-6GHz spectrum, and China will be building standalone 5G networks. The Balong 5000 is strong in both of those areas.
This all dovetails with the areas where Huawei has strong infrastructure businesses. While Huawei is basically illegal in the US right now, it's the national hero in China and does a lot of business in Europe. Huawei products work well with Huawei products, so the company is targeting its modems to countries where it's going to be building the towers.
Wow this is big, @Huawei launches single chip multimode 5G modem Balong 5000.
Looking to take on Qualcomm, would have to see when they ship and if it gets adopted beyond Huawei products to make it successful. Though targeting multiple segments. pic.twitter.com/23hF2cPchv — Neil Shah (@neiltwitz) January 24, 2019
Huawei's bragging rights may not last long, anyway. We expect Qualcomm to launch a new version of its 5G modem at Mobile World Congress, which will make the playing field more even between these two vigorous competitors.
Qualcomm and Huawei aren't the only companies offering 5G modems, but they're the most prominent. Samsung's Exynos 5100 modem, launched in December, matches the Balong 5000 as a multi-mode modem. Samsung limits its modems to its own products, and doesn't include them in US-bound Galaxy phones. But it still has a role here in the US—Verizon's 5G Home service has used Samsung home modems in the past.
MediaTek and Intel are both working on 5G modems too, although they won't be ready until later this year or early 2020. Intel's 5G solution is likely to become the 5G modem included in the first 5G iPhones, currently slated for late 2020.