MediaTek has announced the successful development and certification of a new 5G modem data card, which will soon make its way into laptops via a collaboration with Intel.
Taiwanese semiconductor company MediaTek has revealed that its MediaTek T700 5G modem has completed 5G standalone (SA) calls in real world test scenarios. Further to this, Intel has made progress on “system integration, validation and developing platform optimizations,” and is said to be readying co-engineering support for its OEM partners.
The next step will be to bring MediaTek’s 5G modem to Intel-powered PCs some time in early 2021.
“A successful partnership is measured by execution, and we’re excited to see the rapid progress we are making with MediaTek on our 5G modem solution with customer sampling starting later this quarter. Building on our 4G/LTE leadership in PCs, 5G is poised to further transform the way we connect, compute and communicate. Intel is committed to enhancing those capabilities on the world’s best PCs,” said Chris Walker, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of Mobile Client Platforms.
The MediaTek T700 supports non-standalone and standalone Sub–6 5G network architectures, and is also said to be highly power efficient. Besides laptops, MediaTek claims that it will be rolling its 5G modem technology out to the mobile, home, auto and IoT segments.
While this latest announcement is good news for wider 5G adoption, the initial batch of 5G laptops to emerge under the MediaTek-Intel partnership won’t be the first to market. Back in June, the Lenovo Yoga 5G laptop was announced for release by UK network EE as the world’s first 5G PC. Having been unveiled at CES 2020 in early January, it will be made available later this year on a range of EE pay monthly price plans.
This particular convertible 2-in–1 Windows 10 laptop utilises Qualcomm’s integrated X55 modem, which is the same 5G chip that can be found on 5G-ready smartphones like the OnePlus 8 Pro and the Sony Xperia 1 II. Using this trailblazing modem allows a portable device to hit download speeds of up to 4 gigabits per second, or 10 times faster than 4G.
We’ve also seen 5G laptops announced by Dell and HP earlier in the year, and we’re expecting to see many more as we move into 2021.
Jon has nine years experience of writing and editing copy for leading publications, as well as attending technology shows and events and conducting interviews. Currently working with 5G.co.uk, TechRadar, Trusted Reviews, T3, Digital Spy, What Mobile, Pocket Gamer, and The Gadget Show.
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