Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 LTE Modem: 2nd-Gen Comes With New RF Front-End Components & Offer 1.2 Gbps Speed

Qualcomm unveiled on Tuesday the Snapdragon X20 LTE Modem, the second-generation gigabit class LTE modem which comes with new RF front-end components. The upgrade comes a year after Qualcomm announced in 2016 the X16 LTE, its first LTE-Advanced Pro modem that supports downlink speeds of up to 1.0 Gbps. Using Samsung’s latest 10nm LPE process, the new modem offers some key enhancements over the X16 LTE modem integrated into the Snapdragon 835 SoC.

1,000 Possible Carrier Aggregation Band Combinations

Anandtech reports that the first enhancement is the Snapdragon X20 LTE Modem offers support for 5x carrier aggregation (5x20MH). It would allow the more flexible use of available licensed and unlicensed spectrum with more than 1,000 possible carrier aggregation band combinations. It would boost the number of usable spatial streams from 10 to 12, performing 4x4 MIMO on three aggregated carriers.

The improvements on the Snapdragon X20 LTE Modem would allow it to support UE category 18 on the downlink and improve peak theoretical bandwidth to 1.2 Gbps. It is a 20 percent hike over the X16 LTE modem. Although the uplink bandwidths are unchanged, it could support up to 150 Mbps with 2x20MHz carrier aggregation and 64-QAM.

Propagating Gigabit As Far As Possible

Serge Willenegger, senior vice president of Qualcomm for product management, says that with the Snapdragon X20 LTE Modem, Qualcomm is expanding the addressable market for that capability. “You only need 10MHz of licensed spectrum, plus Licensed Assisted Access, to get gigabit speeds on the new modem. That was really the purpose, to really propagate gigabit as far as possible,” PC Mag quotes Willenegger.

According to Techspot, Gigabit LTE would likely be the next phase in the evolution of 4G wireless technology. It would enable more speed to power complex mobile solutions as technology moves closer to 5G. Qualcomm is sampling the Snapdragon X20 LTE Modem to customers. By the first half of 2018, the first commercial devices with the chipset are expected to ship.