Invests in 5G NR small cell product development for accelerated time to market and reduced costs

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Qualcomm Inc., through its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., announced an intent to collaborate on 5G NR-enabled small cell technologies with Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a non-profit organization engaged in applied research and technical services.

The effort is expected to accelerate delivery and global commercialization of 5G NR small cell products and infrastructure by Taiwanese original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and original design manufacturers (ODM).

“This joint effort with ITRI is a key part of the investments we are making in Taiwan to ensure the industry continues to move rapidly toward deployment of 5G NR technology,” said Jim Cathey, senior VP and president, Asia Pacific & India, Qualcomm International.

“Supporting rapid innovation of 5G NR small cells by OEMs and ODMs in Taiwan is a major step towards enabling much anticipated 5G experiences and will result in faster time to market and lower cost.”

“Small cells will be a key component of 5G networks, delivering enhanced performance utilizing both mmWave and sub 6 GHz spectrum, and we are looking forward to working closely with Qualcomm Technologies as a global leader in end-to-end 5G development,” said Dr. Tzi-Cker Chiueh, General director, Information & Communication Labs, ITRI.

“This new collaboration will provide ITRI early access to Qualcomm Technologies’ key 5G small cell technology, including the creation of industry-grade quality assurance capability for communication protocol product and a live network test bed to enable product testing and performance verification under real world environment prior to product launch field trials. It places local companies and Taiwan in a leadership position to drive 5G networks of tomorrow.”

Small cells are commonly used in densely populated areas, such as city centers, airports, sports venues and shopping centers to provide supplemental capacity in those areas. Small cells are also often deployed in homes, offices and other indoor or outdoor areas for coverage enhancement.

To cater to such varying deployment use cases, small cells come in various forms, such as femtocells, picocells and microcells – each variant offers varying levels of capacity and coverage area. Small cells can be deployed either in a distributed (or standalone) architecture or in a centralized architecture with remote radio heads (RRH).

Small cells including RRH will be needed to realize the full potential of 5G and are particularly well suited to support a wide range of spectrum bands including sub-6 GHz and mmWave (e.g., 28 and 39 GHz); and to support hyper-densification with expanded capacity and coverage, especially in challenging indoor environments.

Small cell innovation will also be a key enabler for new types of deployments, both in mmWave and sub 6 GHz bands, such as private 5G networks, neutral hosts and fixed wireless.