65.5 F
San Diego
Monday, Mar 18, 2024
-Advertisement-

Snapdragon Is on Board for LTE Advanced Roll Out in Asia

San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. said recently that its Snapdragon processors will power smartphones on some of the fastest commercial wireless networks in the world.

Those networks are in Asia.

Mobile networks in South Korea are rolling out a technology called LTE Advanced, which builds on the 4G LTE network technology common in the United States.

Samsung has made the world’s first smartphone for LTE Advanced. The South Korean company’s Galaxy S4 LTE-A comes equipped with Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 800 processor.

South Korean carrier SK Telecom is launching the phone first, Qualcomm reported. Two competing carriers — KT and LG Uplus — are expected to follow in short order.

Data speeds on the South Korean networks are expected to reach 150 megabits per second, which Qualcomm describes as double the speed of conventional 4G LTE speeds.

Faster Than 4G LTE

The South Korean service will be faster than 4G LTE in the United States, where speeds are in the tens of megabits per second.

Representatives of two local carriers said their networks must operate under real-world conditions, and don’t offer speeds available in the lab. “We don’t quote ideal laboratory speeds since our customers don’t live in laboratories,” said Verizon Wireless spokesman Ken Muche.

Customers on the Verizon network can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second, he said, adding that the speeds are on a network fully loaded with customers.

An AT&T representative cited a PC Magazine study showing AT&T had download speeds of 16 megabits per second on its LTE network in the San Diego market.

The same survey reported peak download speeds in the San Diego market were 58 megabits per second for AT&T, and 39 megabits per second for Verizon.

The survey showed upload speeds were slower than download.

The Magic

According to Qualcomm, the South Korean networks use a “carrier aggregation” technology to work their magic.

A cellphone is essentially a two-way radio. Current LTE mobile devices support several LTE radio channels, but they can only download on one channel at a time, according to a Qualcomm statement. LTE carrier aggregation, however, allows for simultaneous download on two or more LTE radio channels.

The Snapdragon 800 processor is Qualcomm’s most advanced and powerful mobile processor to date. Qualcomm noted that it is designed to support carrier aggregation while also conserving battery power. In addition to smartphones, the chip can also power tablets.

Qualcomm offers a range of Snapdragon chips at various price points.

Other News

In other news, the company announced six new processors in the Snapdragon 200 economy range. The chips feature dual-core or quad-core central processing units.

Qualcomm said the processors have modem technologies suitable for the Chinese market as well as other emerging markets.

Qualcomm Technologies Inc. is the Qualcomm subsidiary that makes Snapdragon chips.

Sorrento Mesa-based Qualcomm reported net income of $3.8 billion on revenue of $12.1 billion for the first two quarters of its fiscal year. In the first half of fiscal 2012, Qualcomm reported net income of $3.6 billion on revenue of $9.6 billion.

The company expects to report results from its third quarter on July 24.

Shares of Qualcomm trade on the Nasdaq as QCOM.

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

Oberon Eyes Europe for Renewable DME

Leaders of Influence in Law 2024

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-