MediaTek and Intel Team Up To Bring 5G Networking To Laptops and PCs (arstechnica.com) 17
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: In April of this year, Intel cancelled its 5G-modem building plans. This week, it's announcing that they're back on the table -- but this time, with system-on-chip vendor MediaTek building the hardware. The partnership has Intel setting the 5G specifications, MediaTek developing the modem to match, and Intel optimizing and validating it afterwards. Intel will also lend its marketing and integration muscle to convince OEMs to use the new hardware and help them make sure it works well in final products. This also means Intel will be writing operating-system-level drivers for the modems.
The partnership looks like a sensible one for both parties: Intel has been struggling to get its own 10nm hardware out the door on time, so getting this hardware design task off its plate may relieve some pressure there, while still keeping the company in an emerging market. MediaTek, on the other hand, can definitely benefit from Intel's software development expertise and deep integration with OEM vendors in the PC space. Specifically, the companies will be adapting MediaTek's existing Helio M70 5G modem for use in PC hardware. The M70 modem is already being built into MediaTek's Dimensity family of ARM System-on-Chip (SoC) designs; the new partnership gives MediaTek a whole new platform to market to and gives Intel a foot back into the door in 5G. It also may represent a way for Intel to push back against ARM-based Windows hardware like Samsung's Galaxy Book S, built on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx platform. We can expect to see the resulting hardware shipping some time in 2021, the report adds.
The partnership looks like a sensible one for both parties: Intel has been struggling to get its own 10nm hardware out the door on time, so getting this hardware design task off its plate may relieve some pressure there, while still keeping the company in an emerging market. MediaTek, on the other hand, can definitely benefit from Intel's software development expertise and deep integration with OEM vendors in the PC space. Specifically, the companies will be adapting MediaTek's existing Helio M70 5G modem for use in PC hardware. The M70 modem is already being built into MediaTek's Dimensity family of ARM System-on-Chip (SoC) designs; the new partnership gives MediaTek a whole new platform to market to and gives Intel a foot back into the door in 5G. It also may represent a way for Intel to push back against ARM-based Windows hardware like Samsung's Galaxy Book S, built on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx platform. We can expect to see the resulting hardware shipping some time in 2021, the report adds.
RealTek or Allwinner unavailable? (Score:2)
Intel has really let itself go. The "Boeing" business model.
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Laptop I can see but why PC? (Score:3)
Since apparently you have to be sitting under a 5G tower to get any exception a laptop with 5G makes a lot of sense.
But who wants to drag a PC out onto the sidewalk to get a fast wireless connection? Though I supposed that beats setting it up in a Starbucks.
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No, the mmWave part of 5G is extremely short range but extremely high speed., but there are still regular high and low band 5G that promises higher speeds without being near a lamppost. Even the mmWave towers will only be in places where the density woul
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Because the cost is minimal. Once you have a radio module with ADC and programmable tuner adding new protocols is basically just software. As long as the 5G frequency can be tuned by extending the Wifi/Bluetooth modem they just need to write the firmware and the per-unit manufacturing cost of adding 5G is zero.
For an example of this take a look at RTL-SDR. Realtek made a USB TV tuner that is just an RF front end and an ADC. Turns out you can tune it over a fairly wide range of frequencies, not just TV and A
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It's not a dupe because ... (Score:2)
... the names of the companies are reversed from the first posting.
https://hardware.slashdot.org/... [slashdot.org]
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Didn't Apple buy Intel's wireless patents or whatnot?
Again? (Score:1)
How do I get one of these "editor" jobs? [slashdot.org] Are the only qualifications kneepads and incompetence? I have one, and can fake the other.
Yet another monthly charge (Score:3)
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Hardware *MAY* ship in 2021? (Score:2)
Hardware could ship in 2021, if:
No lawsuits by Qualcomm and Apple (very likely).
No ban because Mediatek=bad Chinese company
If anybody cares - if you need an Intel SoC for it, remember Intel's record in the SoC game. When was the last time you saw an Intel phone? What ever happened to the Atom and Intel-powered tablets?
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No ban because Mediatek=bad Chinese company
Mediatek is Taiwanese. Not bad, yet.
And the FOSS drivers will be... where? (Score:2)
This also means Intel will be writing operating-system-level drivers for the modems.
Because this [intel.com] is what Chipzilla is saying: "In addition to having the industry’s broadest portfolio of 5G network solutions and a fast path to deployment, Intel is also driving open source software and standards-based technologies that will bring 5G to life."
But if the XMM 8160 that was destined for Apple's iphones is any indicator, this mention of open software is just promotional puff.
Setting the specifications? (Score:2)
How does that make any sense? If they failed at building one, how can they know what specifications to set? How would they know what's even feasible? And btw, the 5G spec itself is already frozen .. so they must be talking about power consumption, layout area, transmission power, things like that. Sounds like some BS to me so Intel can save face in all of this.
Intel should shift focus to things where they can be mediocre and do ok .. things like autonomous vehicle chips (they own mobileye dont they?).
CCP made? (Score:1)
No way.