‘MediaTek will come with soc at the end of 2020 that supports 5g on mmWave frequencies’

Chinese processor designer MediaTek is reportedly coming at the end of 2020 with its first soc that supports 5G on mmWave frequencies. The first soc with 5g support from the manufacturer only supports 5g at low frequencies.

The soc with support for mmWave will come in the second half of 2020, according to Digitimes sources. Digitimes is a Taiwanese newspaper with good connections within the semiconductor industry, although the paper’s track record with rumors is mixed, especially in the field of consumer products.

MediaTek recently presented the Dimensity 1000, its first soc with built-in 5g support. A built-in modem with 5g is not yet self-evident. Several competitors, such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 and Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 990, have a separate modem for connection to 5G networks. MediaTek would like to show its second soc with 5g, with also only support for lower frequencies, on Christmas Day.

The mmWave frequencies, such as the 26GHz band, have much more bandwidth than the lower frequencies. Partly because of this, much higher speeds are possible via 5g. On the other hand, the range on that frequency is relatively poor. The signal does not pass through buildings and obstacles, so users must have a line-of-sight with a cell tower for a connection. MediaTek has not commented on the rumor.