At its CES 2019 press conference, Intel presented its intention to join the 5G race. Accordingly, Intel revealed it SnowRidge SoC for 5G network, the infrastructure of the Intel’s 5G cell phone tower base. However, this system is not dedicated to smartphones, but, instead, it is a wireless base station solution, enabling carriers that plan to offer 5G to improve the efficiency of the upcoming network standard.
According to Intel, this SnowRidge SoC for 5G network is made with 10-nm technology and has to be mounted on cell phone towers. Also, Intel said that the new chipset is similar to the silicon maker’s ‘Ice Lake’ computer and laptop chipsets.
However, this market is new for Intel which plans to reach 40 percent market share by 2022 thanks to SnowRidge SoC for 5G network. According to MobileSyrup, “a brief demo showed off during Intel’s CES 2019 keynote demonstrated how Snow Ridge is capable of serving multiple data streams from various types of applications, with total bandwidth amounting theoretically to 100Gbps.”
Intel Revealed Its SnowRidge SoC For 5G Network
During the Intel’s press conference in the preview of CES 2019, the company only presented the new SnowRidge SoC for 5G network, but it has not revealed the potential partnerships with carriers. Therefore, Intel might keep this information secret until Mobile World Congress 2019 which will take place in late-February.
As reported by MobileSyrup, “since MWC 2018, Intel has been silent regarding its plans for 5G, with the only exception being the reveal of its XMM 8160 5G modem back in November. The new modem is designed to work with smartphones, laptops, desktop devices, and broadband access gateways.”
As regarding technology for the upcoming 5G network, Intel fell behind Qualcomm. However, Apple will most likely use Intel’s SnowRidge SoC in its future 5G iPhone which would come out in 2020 or so.