lte, 5g and 3gpp iot chipsets: status update · samsung, sanechips (formerly zte microelectronics)...

©Copyright 2018 Global mobile Suppliers Association 1

LTE, 5G and 3GPP IoT Chipsets: Status Update

LTE and 5G report based on intelligence gathered as part of GSA’s industry research programme

November 2018

GSA Report |November 2018| LTE, 5G and 3GPP IoT Chipsets: Status Update

©Copyright 2018 Global mobile Suppliers Association2

Introduction

GSA continuously tracks the mobile industry and reports on adoption of 3GPP standardized technologies and the expansion of the mobile ecosystem. This report complements the broader Status of the LTE Ecosystem reports based on the GSA GAMBoD devices database (which covers modules as well as end-user devices of multiple types).

The focus of this report is discrete cellular modem chipsets, mobile processors and platforms used in devices with LTE (and 5G) connectivity, and chipsets designed for devices using 3GPP-defined IoT technologies.

Note that we do not include information on separate baseband processors, DSP chips or separate RF front-end transceivers, nor silicon designed primarily for base stations used as network infrastructure. However, we will include chipsets designed for enterprise and residential small cells and FWA applications as these can be considered devices (femotcells are included in the GAMBoD database). Nor do we track reference designs for complete platforms or discrete components where the vendor has no involvement beyond creation of IP for licensing (e.g., some designs from ARM and CEVA).

Technology background and definitions

Chipset vendors use different terms to describe their products. In this report we define three specific types, as follows.

• Discrete cellular modem A modem chipset in a single package designed primarily to handle the transfer of data across the air interface. It will contain the transceiver, filters and power amplifier, and handle signal modulation/demodulation, duplexing modes and carrier aggregation. Modem chipsets are often – but not always – built to support specific regional requirements, in different variants (SKUs, or stock-keeping units): we do not systematically track all variants separately. Generally, a cellular modem chipset will not deliver capabilities such as GNSS positioning or powerful processors for applications or graphics.

• Mobile processor/platform A chipset that encompasses a cellular modem along with additional processors to deliver more functionality in a single package. Again, region-specific variants may be produced. Our definition includes chipsets described as “system on chip” (SoC), and “single chip” packages as long as the include RF and modem capabilities. The extent of the additional capabilities varies significantly between

3 commercial 5G modem chipsets; more to follow

soon, along with processor/ platforms

23 discrete cellular modem chipsets

supporting LTE (excluding

5G-capable silicon)

129 mobile platforms or processors

supporting LTE

26 modem or platform chipsets supporting 3GPP IoT technologies



models; some, but not all, contain powerful graphics processors for image and video applications. Mobile processors/platforms chipsets may be designed for specific types of devices (such as automotive components, smartphones, tablets or laptops). This category includes chipsets designed for FWA devices (routers, gateways) as well as those for mobile devices.

• 3GPP IoT chipset A modem or mobile processor/platform designed primarily for use in IoT devices, and in our database, supporting 3GPP IoT-oriented user equipment categories (specifically, LTE Cat-1, Cat-M1 and Cat-NB1/NB2). While capabilities vary, these chipsets do not generally support as full a range of features as other chipsets in our database. Other chipsets may also be used for IoT applications. Note that we do not capture information about uplink/downlink speed separately (3GPP’s UE – or user equipment – device category definitions state the relevant maximum data rates). Again, we exclude chipsets without RF and modem capabilities.

DL/UL data speeds and UE categories

We have collected data from vendors on stated support for 3GPP LTE UE categories as well as stated maximum peak downlink and uplink speeds. Some, but not all, vendors state both. We have not filled gaps in the DL/UL speeds from stated categories where no speeds are given. UE categories have been assigned on the basis of speeds and other information given, using our best efforts, to ensure that the UE categories fields are as complete as possible.

Spectrum band support

We have not collected spectrum band support for LTE chipsets in the database; readers should refer to the vendors’ own information. However, we will track availability of chipset support for new, emerging bands, and those being used for future 5G networks. It is likely that 5G modems and mobile processors/platforms will support mmWave frequencies as well as sub-6 GHz frequencies to enable multimode devices.

5G silicon status

Since our last report in August there has been further activity in the 5G chipset arena. We have previously identified Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50, Intel’s XMM 8060, Samsung’s Exynos 5100 and Hi-Silicon’s Balong 5G01 modems (though the commercial status of the Intel XMM 8060 is unclear). We also



previously identified MediaTek’s Helio M70 processor/platform as a (pre-commercial) 5G chipset. These are being joined by Intel’s XMM 8160 modem (announced) and Hi-Silicon’s Kirin 990 processor/platform (expected to be announced shortly) as well as a Qualcomm processor/platform expected to be announced before the end of 2018. Qualcomm has already released details of its mmWave antenna module (QTM052, designed to complement the X50 modem chipset) and a sub-6 GHz RF front-end module (QPM56xx) developed specifically for 5G NR.

We consider Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50, Samsung Exynos 5100 and Hi-Silicon Balong 5G01 modems to be commercially available; all other 5G silicon listed we consider to be at pre-commercial stage, though some samples may be shipping. Precise commercial status of these chipsets, and of mobile platforms that integrate these modems, is difficult to confirm. MediaTek says that devices using its Helio M70 modem will be commercially available in 2019; Intel says it expects to ship the XMM 8160 in mid-2019.

Information on performance of pre-commercial 5G chipsets is partial, but the peak downlink speeds for the commercial modems range from 1900 Mbps (for Samsung’s Exynos 5100, which functions as a 4G Cat-19 modem too, to 5 Gbps for the Qualcomm Snapdragon X50; both these modems can support up to 8-channel LTE carrier aggregation in the downlink. Intel says its XMM 8160 will have a downlin speed of 6 Gbps and the modem will also support 2G, 3G and 4G services.

Discrete LTE cellular modems

Excluding 5G-capable chipsets, GSA has counted 23 commercial discrete cellular LTE modem chipsets, from six vendors: Hi-Silicon, Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sanechips (formerly ZTE Microelectronics) and UNISOC (formerly Spreadtrum). Other modems are produced but are integrated with other processors in mobile platforms – examples include MediaTek’s WorldMode 4G modem integrated within many of MediaTek’s platforms.

In terms of downlink speeds, the fastest current LTE modem chipsets are:

• Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X20 and X24 modems (DL category 18 and 20 respectively; 1.2 Gbit/s and 2 Gbit/s respectively with 5 and 7 carrier aggregation respectively and 256QAM on the downlink).

• Intel’s XMM 7560 and 7660 modems (DL category 16 and 19 respectively; 1 Gbit/s and 1.6 Gbit/s respectively, with 256QAM modulation on the downlink).



• Hi-Silicon’s Balong 765 (DL category 19; 1.6 Gbit/s, with four-channel carrier aggregation, 256QAM DL modulation, and 8x8 MIMO on the DL, which is an industry first).

Other modems are also powering fast mobile platforms such as the Samsung Exynos 9 Series (9810 and 9820) and Hi-Silicon’s Kirin 970 and 980 which support downlink speeds in excess of 1.2 Gbps, and in the case of the Exynos 9820, 2 Gbps.

Mobile processors/platforms

The largest category of chipsets in the GSA database: we have counted 129 commercially launched mobile processors/platforms (other than those specifically designed for IoT applications – see next section) from 13 vendors: Altair Semiconductor, GCT, Hi-Silicon, Innofidei, Intel, Leadcore, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Renesas Mobile, Samsung, Sequans, UNISOC (previously Spreadtrum) and Xiaomi.

Since August we have added processors/platforms from Hi-Silicon (Kirin 980), MediaTek (Helio P70), Qualcomm (Snapdragon 675 and Snapdragon Wear 3100), and Samsung (Exynos 9 Series (9820)).

A number of other mobile processors/platforms from GCT, Hi-Silicon, MediaTek, Qualcomm and Xiaomi are still at the pre-commercial stage and not included in our analysis.

Our total of commercial LTE mobile processors/platforms includes some market-specific variants (such as chipsets designed to meet automotive industry standards), but regional / band-specific variants are not systematically captured in the database.

Downlink UE category support

Figure 1 shows the distribution of processors / platforms in our database by downlink UE category supported, where known.



Figure 1: % of mobile processors/platforms supporting specific UE categories

Support for advanced features is growing. We have identified 16 commercial mobile processors/platforms that support 256QAM in the downlink (up from 13 in August): GCT’s GDM7243A, Hi-Silicon’s Kirin 970 and 980, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 630, 636, 660, 670, 675, 710, 820, 821, 835, 845 and 850, and Samsung’s Exynos 9 Series (9810 and 9820). There are 30 more that support 64QAM in the downlink, and 29 that support 64QAM in the uplink (up from 25 in June). Two processor/platfomrs support 256QAM in the uplink: Hi-Silicon’s Kirin 980 and Samsung’s Exynos 9 Series (9820).

Sixteen mobile processor/platform chipsets have confirmed support for 4x4 MIMO (up from 14 in August): Altair Semiconductor’s Alt4800; GCT’s GDM7243Q Quad, GDM7243QT and GDM7243A; Hi-Silicon’s Kirin 960, 970 and 980; Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 710, 820 (and automotive variant), 821, 835, 845 and 850; and Samsung’s Exynos 9810 and 9820.

VoLTE, eMBMS and unlicensed spectrum support

GSA is tracking the ecosystem for specific LTE features. Figure 2 shows the number of commercially available mobile processors/platforms, and discrete cellular modems, supporting VoLTE and eMBMS (LTE Broadcast/Multicast). Note that Cat-1 chipsets may also support VoLTE, and LTE-M (Cat-M1) also



allows for VoLTE support. We have confirmed that ten Cat-1 or Cat-M1 chipsets (aimed primarily at IoT applications) explicitly state support for VoLTE (others may also support it but this has not been confirmed by vendors).

Figure 2: Support for eMBMS and VoLTE

Samsung’s new Exynos 9 Series (9820) supports Enhanced LAA (eLAA), which enables uplink as well as downlink use of unlicensed bands.

The GSA report LTE in Unlicensed Spectrum tracks on a quarterly basis the number of mobile processors/platforms that support three specific technologies (LTE-U, LAA and LWA) used to deliver LTE using unlicensed spectrum, as well as the availability of compatible modules and networks.

3GPP IoT chipsets

There are 26 chipsets (modem chipsets and integrated processors/platforms) designed specifically to address M2M and IoT applications and supporting any of LTE Cat-1, Cat-M1 and Cat-NB1/NB2 user equipment. Note that we have removed three chipsets from our analysis that we found did not have integrated RF and modem features.

The GSA report Evolution to NB-IoT and LTE-M tracks the ecosystem of chipsets and modules as well as network rollouts. Figure 3 shows the percentage of chipsets supporting UE Cat-NB1/NB2, Cat-1 and Cat-M1.



Figure 3: Numbers of chipsets supporting 3GPP IoT standards

Chipset tables

The tables below list the commercially launched 5G and LTE chipsets analysed for this report. Tables 1 and 2 exclude chipsets designed primarily for 3GPP IoT applications; these are shown in Table 3.

Table 1: Discrete 5G and LTE cellular modem chipsets

Vendor Model UE Category (DL) 5G?Hi-Silicon Balong 700 No dataHi-Silicon Balong 710 4Hi-Silicon Balong 711 4Hi-Silicon Balong 720 6Hi-Silicon Balong 750 12Hi-Silicon Balong 765 19Hi-Silicon Balong 5G01 N/A YesIntel XMM 7160 4Intel XMM 7260/7262 6Intel XMM 7360 10Intel XMM 7480 12Intel XMM 7560 16Intel XMM 7660 19Qualcomm Snapdragon X5 4Qualcomm Snapdragon X7 6



Vendor Model UE Category (DL) 5G?Qualcomm Snapdragon X12 12Qualcomm Snapdragon X16 16Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 18Qualcomm Snapdragon X24 20Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 N/A YesSamsung Exynos Modem 303 6Samsung Exynos Modem 333 10Samsung Exynos 5100 19 YesSanechips Technology

ZX297510 4

Sanechips Technology

ZX297520 4

UNISOC (formerly Spreadtrum)

SC9620 4

Table 2: LTE mobile processors/platforms (no integrated 5G processor/platforms are commercially

launched)

Vendor Model UE Category (DL)Altair Semiconductor Alt3800 4Altair Semiconductor Alt4800 12GCT GDM7243Q Quad 7GCT GDM7243QT 7GCT GDM7243S 4GCT GDM7243ST 4GCT GDM7243A 15Hi-Silicon Kirin 620 4Hi-Silicon Kirin 650 7Hi-Silicon Kirin 655 6Hi-Silicon Kirin 658 6Hi-Silicon Kirin 659 13Hi-Silicon Kirin 710 12Hi-Silicon Kirin 910 4Hi-Silicon Kirin 920 6Hi-Silicon Kirin 930 6Hi-Silicon Kirin 950 6Hi-Silicon Kirin 960 12Hi-Silicon Kirin 970 18Hi-Silicon Kirin 980 21Innofidei Warp Drive 5000 4Intel Atom x3-M7272 6Leadcore InnoPower LC1860 4Leadcore InnoPower LC1860C 4MediaTek Helio A22 7



Vendor Model UE Category (DL)MediaTek Helio P10 6MediaTek Helio P18 6MediaTek Helio P20 6MediaTek Helio P22 7MediaTek Helio P23 7MediaTek Helio P25 6MediaTek Helio P30 7MediaTek Helio P60 7MediaTek Helio P70 7MediaTek Helio X25 6MediaTek Helio X10 4MediaTek Helio X20 6MediaTek Helio X23 6MediaTek Helio X27 6MediaTek Helio X30 10MediaTek MT6595 4MediaTek MT6732 4MediaTek MT6735 4MediaTek MT6737 4MediaTek MT6737T 4MediaTek MT6738 6MediaTek MT6739 4MediaTek MT6750 6MediaTek MT6752 4MediaTek MT6753 4MediaTek MT8735B 4MediaTek MT8735D 4MediaTek MT8735M 4MediaTek MT8735P 4MediaTek MT8783 4MediaTek MT8785 6Qualcomm 205 Mobile Platform 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 412 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 415 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 427 7Qualcomm Snapdragon 429 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 7Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 4



Vendor Model UE Category (DL)Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 7Qualcomm Snapdragon 610 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 7Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 7Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 7Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 12Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 7Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 12Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 7Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 7Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 7Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 12Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 15Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 12Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 15Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 4Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 6Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 9Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 9Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 12Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Automotive 12Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 12Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 16Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 18Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 18Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 4Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2500 16Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 4Renesas Mobile MP6530 4Renesas Mobile MP6532 4Samsung Exynos 3 Quad (3470) 4Samsung Exynos 5 Series (7872) 7Samsung Exynos 7 Dual (7270) 4Samsung Exynos 7 Octa (7580) 6Samsung Exynos 7 Octa (7870) 6Samsung Exynos 7 Quad (7570) 4Samsung Exynos 7 Series (7880) 7Samsung Exynos 7 Series (7885) 12Samsung Exynos 7 Series (9610) 12Samsung Exynos 8 Octa (8890) 12Samsung Exynos 9 Series (8895) 16



Vendor Model UE Category (DL)Samsung Exynos 9 Series (9810) 18Samsung Exynos 9 Series (9820) 20Sequans Cassiopeia LTE-Advanced

Platform6

Sequans Colibri LTE Platform 4Sequans Mont Blanc LTE Platform 4Sequans Mont Blanc LTE/WiMAX

Platform4

UNISOC (formerly Spreadtrum) SC9820 No dataUNISOC (formerly Spreadtrum) SC9830A No dataUNISOC (formerly Spreadtrum) SC9832 4UNISOC (formerly Spreadtrum) SC9832E 4UNISOC (formerly Spreadtrum) SC9850 7UNISOC (formerly Spreadtrum) SC9853I 7UNISOC (formerly Spreadtrum) SC9860GV 7UNISOC (formerly Spreadtrum) SC9861G-IA 7UNISOC (formerly Spreadtrum) SC9863 7Xiaomi Surge S1 4

Table 3: 3GPP IoT chipsets

Vendor Model Cat-NB1 Cat-M1 Cat-1Altair Semiconductor ALT1160 YesAltair Semiconductor ALT1210 Yes YesAltair Semiconductor ALT1250 Yes YesCEVA CEVA-Dragonfly NB1 YesCEVA CEVA-Dragonfly NB2 NB2GCT GDM7243I Yes YesIntel XMM 7120M YesIntel XMM 7115 YesIntel XMM 7315 Yes YesMediaTek MT2621 YesMediaTek MT2625 YesNeul Boudica 120 YesNeul Boudica 150 YesNordic Semiconductor Nordic nRF91 Yes YesQualcomm Snapdragon Wear 1200 Yes YesQualcomm Snapdragon Wear 1100 YesQualcomm MDM9207-1 YesQualcomm MDM9206 Yes YesRDA Microelectronics RDA8908 YesSamsung Exynos i S111 Yes & NB2Sanechips Technology RoseFinch 7100 YesSequans Monarch LTE Platform Yes Yes



Vendor Model Cat-NB1 Cat-M1 Cat-1Sequans Calliope LTE Platform YesSequans Monarch N Yes & NB2Sequans Monarch SX Yes YesSequans / STMicro CLOE LTE Tracker Platform Yes Yes

We intend to continue to update the chipset database and this report; additions or correction are welcomed. Please contact [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



About GSA

GSA (the Global mobile Suppliers Association) is a not-for-profit industry organisation representing companies across the worldwide mobile ecosystem engaged in the supply of infrastructure, semiconductors, test equipment, devices, applications and mobile support services.

GSA actively promotes the 3GPP technology road-map – 3G; 4G; 5G – and is a single source of information resource for industry reports and market intelligence. GSA Members drive the GSA agenda and define the communications and development strategy for the Association.

Membership of GSA is open to any supplier of products; systems or services related to the mobile industry and brings many benefits including access to the GAMBoD database. The range of benefits includes enhanced discussion, networking and influencing opportunities on the key industry topics, and unique promotional/visibility opportunities for your company name, capabilities, positioning and messages. More details can be found at https://gsacom.com/gsa-membership/

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NOTES:Errors & Omissions Excepted

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lte, 5g and 3gpp iot chipsets: status update · samsung, sanechips (formerly zte microelectronics)...

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