MediaTek has announced their next generation M80 5G modem, replacing the M70 modem that was announced last year. The modem features support for both mmWave and sub-6 GHz 5G technologies, can function on both non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) architectures capable of reaching peak download speeds of 7.67 Gbps and upload speeds of 3.76 Gbps.
The M80 modem is designed for many devices such as smartphones, PCs, Mi-Fi hotspots, broadband customer premise equipment, industrial IoT applications and more. It features 5G UltraSave technologies for extensive power-saving enhancements, and it has their UltraSave Network Environment Detection and UltraSave OTA Content Awareness technologies too.
Some of its many capabilities include support for:
- 3GPP Release 16 standard
- Sub-6 GHz and mmWave dual connectivity and carrier aggregation
- 5G NR (FR1) with more than two carrier aggregation
- 5G mmWave (FR2) up to 8CC
- 5G carrier aggregation with Mixed Duplex (TDD + FDD)
- Dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) ready
The MediaTek M80 5G modem is expected to sample with OEMs later in 2021.
Commenting on the announcement, JC Hsu, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of MediaTek’s Wireless Communications Business Unit said:
As 5G rollouts accelerate, mmWave is becoming increasingly important, especially in the U.S. MediaTek’s new 5G modem integrates support for both sub-6 GHz and mmWave networks to address this opportunity and give device makers more flexibility. To advance users’ 5G experiences, the new modem supports the latest global cellular standards and specifications and it packs MediaTek’s signature power savings technologies along with ultra-fast speeds.