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A new antenna design and an integral modem chip that will allow mobile users to communicate using millimeter-wave technology are now in production, according to Qualcomm, chip maker.
Mohammed Al Khairy, Senior Manager of Modem Marketing that the new components are already in production, and that mobile phone manufacturers already have samples. The use of millimeter wave communications is essential to the 5G communication plans of all major carriers
The millimeter waves are so called because the radio wave lengths are only a few millimeters. At these wavelengths, radio waves behave more like beams of light than radio waves that you normally encounter. They bounce off hard surfaces, they can be blocked by a human body (because a body is mostly water), but they can also be very concentrated – and they can be targeted.
The short wave length is due to the high frequency at which these waves are generated. 5G communications in the millimeter wave bands will operate at 28 and 39 GHz, where the wavelengths are between 8 and 9 millimeters. By comparison, the FM radio operates at a wavelength of about 3 meters
Good opportunity to use new antennas
The fact that these radio waves bounce is also an opportunity for some types of antennas, especially those using MIMO designs (multiple inputs / multiple outputs), in which the antenna system takes advantage of signals flowing on different paths to improve the radio signal received by the radio. This same technique is used in new WiFi access points to help get rid of dead spots.
The advantage of millimeter-wave radios is that they have the potential to provide significant bandwidth with very low latencies. This is how the promised bandwidth of 5G will be delivered, and that all operators and device manufacturers must be able to provide communications using millimeter-wave radios.
The Qualcomm solution combines the company's X50 5G modem with four QTM052 antenna modules in each smartphone. The antenna modules would be on each edge of the device. Each of the modules contains four real antennas. Al Khairy said that device manufacturers should use at least three antenna modules, although the X50 will support up to four.
Having at least three of these modules, the antennas can be grouped into one they support beam formation and focused reception. Through the MIMO design, the device can use signals from any direction, including reflected by a building, even if the antenna is not directly visible.
New Modem / Pair of Antennas Production
The announcement of Qualcomm is important for two reasons. First of all, it is an important technical achievement that is needed for the success of the promise of 5G to provide data an order of magnitude faster than current mobile devices. Second, it's not a vaporware. The Modem / Antenna Pair from Qualcomm is Already in Serial Production
Because the millimeter-wave components are already in the hands of the phone manufacturers, it means that the engineers of these companies will have the ability to design the carriers' devices deliver it. Al Khairy said that he expects to see phones and other devices with new millimeter-wave antennas and integrated modems in early 2019. Cellular sites based on the same technology should be operational by the end of 2018. [19659002] Initially, Qualcomm's millimeter wave packet will process wireless speeds up to 5 gigabits per second. But Al Khairy said the company is already working on components that could provide even higher speeds and offer other features, although it has refused to be specific as to what will happen with future products. Qualcomm said in its news reports that realistic speeds in the first mobile devices would be more than 1.6 gigabits per second.
The millimeter wave radio will require many more cell sites
A characteristic of millimeter waves The radio that has not been widely debated, is that it will require many more cellular sites than current carriers. Due to the relatively short range in the real world, millimeter wave cells will need to be brought closer together, especially in urban areas where carriers plan to install them.
While millimeter waves can cover longer distances in good conditions, they can not penetrate physical objects well, and that includes things like walls, but also foliage, and even people. During the tests, I ran to the University of Hawaii with Brian Chee, the lab director. We could get distances of up to two kilometers using millimeter waves, but that was on an empty space. Realistic expectations for the real world are more like a hundred meters.
This means that you can expect to see small cell antennas on everything from buildings to traffic signs as 5G develops. But the new pair of antennas and modems Qualcomm can also do a lot to make fixed operations, such as cell sites, too invasive because antennas can be much smaller. This will probably do a lot to help 5G communications grow.
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