Qualcomm Unveils World’s First Global LTE Baseband Chip

Qualcomm comes to the rescue of travelers and companies who have to deal with LTE fragmentation. The companies introduced a new chipset model; the RF360 which will enable the devices to use about 40 different frequencies and seven cellular modes used by mobile carriers around the world.

The Qualcomm RF360 also allows the device to consume less power, heat and thickness, and an improved antenna. The dynamic antenna matching tuner helps to extend the antenna range to operators over 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE frequency bands ranging from 700- 2700MHz. The chip has an integrated CMOS power amplifier and antenna switch and therefore requires only a small PCB area compared to its predecessors and helps with simplified routing.

The devices with the newer Qualcomm chipset are anticipated for launch by the second half of 2013.

This will help handset makers (such as Apple) to deal with issues where they have to face a hassle of providing a handset to work with 40 different LTE broadband frequencies. Its important to having a chipset that has global support for the majority of the carriers around the world.

As of now, the company has taken an early lead in the growing LTE baseband market by shipping about 47 Million LTE-capable units last year, which accounts for 86% of the world total. However, Qualcomm needs to watch out for Nvidia and Broadcom as they’re planning to grab a piece of the rapid growing LTE market as both of the companies have achieved their personal milestones. Qualcomm’s RF630 is just what it needs to dominate in the LTE chipset market until the time its competitors work on something but it’s just a matter of time that Nvidia and Broadcom will catch up!

The LTE baseband market itself had an 18% year-on-year reach of about 18 billion. Transition to 4G LTE is also going to be a hit in developing countries such as China and India, although in India there’s always a “never-getting-old” issue of unrealistic data caps, fair usages and ridiculous pricing policies.

The VP of Qualcomm Technology Alex Katouzian said,”Our new RF devices are tightly integrated and will allow us the flexibility and scalability to supply OEMs of all types, from those requiring only a region-specific LTE solution, to those needing LTE global roaming support.“