A year ago, I wrote that the top of the line Qualcomm and HiSilicon chips were “comparable.” At MWC 2019 respected analyst Jay Goldberg concluded that Huawei has even pulled ahead.
Goldberg went on to say Qualcomm 2nd generation chip, already sampling, should catch them up.
Both Qualcomm & HiSilicon uses the 7 nm process at TSMC. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of engineers are needed to design these chips. There are an almost unbelievably complex 15-20 billion transistors.
The radio frequency front end also needs to be at or beyond the state of the art. The cameras must be the best; for Jennie and many others, the camera is the most critical component.
Chips and a handful of phones should be available in 2-3 months, ramping from there. The assumption in the industry is limited supplies until 2020 and only modest 5G revenue before 2021-2022. That may not be correct, especially with the latest estimates of Chinese
Huawei Launches Industry-Leading 5G Multi-Mode Chipset Balong 5000 to Lead the 5G Era
[Beijing, January 24, 2019] Huawei officially launched an industry-leading 5G multi-mode chipset called Balong 5000 – along with the first commercial 5G device powered by it, the Huawei 5G CPE Pro. Together, these two new products deliver superior connection experiences, providing a hardware foundation for enriching 5G application scenarios, and leading the 5G era.
Balong 5000 is an industry-leading 5G multi-mode chipset that supports 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks on a single chip. It also supports an ultra-fast 5G rate in the industry. It achieves a peak download rate of 4.6 Gbps in the Sub-6 GHz frequency bands, and 6.5 Gbps in the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency bands, which is 10 times faster than top 4G LTE speeds on the market today. This speed brings an ultra-fast 5G communications experience. Balong 5000 is the world’s first chipset to support Sub-6 GHz 100 MHz x 2CC bandwidth, meeting carriers’ diverse networking requirements and maximizing usage of carriers’ spectrum resources. The chipset is the first in the industry to support NR TDD and FDD full spectrum, helping carriers effectively utilize frequency band resources and stabilizing the mobile connection experience of device users. In addition, Balong 5000 is the world’s first chipset to support both standalone (SA, 5G independent networking) and non-standalone (NSA, 5G network deployment on the basis of LTE) networking modes. In early 5G commercial use, Balong 5000 provides a transitional solution for NSA, and lays the hardware foundation for establishing the 5G core
network and its comprehensive migration to SA to accelerate 5G industry development and maturity.Behind Balong 5000’s superior specifications are Huawei’s leading 5G innovation and technology. As a 5G pioneer, Huawei has been conducting 5G R&D since 2009, working closely with carriers and industry partners to actively promote 5G network deployment. Huawei has end-to-end technical strengths in the 5G field covering from infrastructures to terminals and chipsets, thus Huawei’s 5G chipsets and terminals can test jointly with Huawei-developed 5G network to help accelerate 5G rollout at very early stage. In addition, Huawei actively cooperates with measuring instrument manufacturers to test and help accelerate the maturity of 5G industry. Huawei is committed to overcoming challenges in 5G deployment and promoting 5G standardization and industrialization through innovative solutions, building a fully connected world.
A Top-Notch 5G Multi-Mode Chipset in the Industry That Supports 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G Networks on a Single Chip and Leads 5G Technologies.
In the early stages of 5G commercial use, devices must support 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G simultaneously. Therefore, a large amount of data is interoperated between different modes. As an industry-leading 5G multi-mode chipset, Balong 5000 is highly integrated and supports the 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks on a single chip. This not only effectively reduces data exchange latency and improves the performance and data transmission efficiency, but also reduces the power consumption produced during interoperation between 5G data, significantly reducing Internet lagging in services such as video and gaming, and greatly improving user experience in the early stages of 5G commercialization.
To address the challenges of chipset design brought by 5G technologies, Huawei started Balong 5000 technology R&D in 2015, aiming to commercialize it on a large scale for 5G. Instead of following the traditional pace of development after communications standards are determined, Huawei adopted product iteration for Balong 5000 before the industry established 5G standards. This allowed Balong 5000 to be instantly ready before 5G networks are commercialized, becoming an industry-leading 5G multi-mode chipset.
A World-Leading 5G Download Rate, Ushering in an Ultra-Fast 5G Era
With continual development of 5G technologies, we will live in an era where all things will be connected. Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and Internet of Things (IoT) applications based on 5G networks, such as VR/AR, industrial Internet, autonomous driving, and connected vehicles will grow rapidly as 5G networks become mature. However, this also brings new challenges to 5G communications.
According to the 5G standards defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 5G networks have three characteristics: high rate, ubiquitous connection, and low latency. High rate and low latency are vital for achieving ubiquitous connection. Balong 5000 leads the industry in the 5G peak download rate. It achieves 4.6 Gbps in the Sub-6 GHz frequency bands, twice the industry average. It also achieves 6.5 Gbps in the mmWave frequency bands, 10 times faster than top 4G LTE speeds on the market today. This brings an ultra-fast 5G network experience and provides superior connections for more 5G network applications.
At the same time, Balong 5000 is world’s first chipset to support the Sub-6 GHz 100 MHz x 2CC bandwidth. It not only doubles the peak rate of Sub-6 GHz frequency bands, but also suits complex networking situations to be faced by carriers during 5G commercialization, facilitating their 5G network deployment.
The Industry’s First Chipset to Support Both SA and NSA Networks, Accelerating 5G Industry Development
During the evolution of the 5G industry, SA and NSA are two main standards of 5G networks. SA networking requires construction of the independent 5G core network and base stations to better meet requirements for large bandwidth and low latency in the 5G era. This networking mode enriches 5G services and represents the trend of 5G industry development. NSA networking overlays 5G technology with existing LTE networks and achieves the 5G network rate with minor network reconstruction. It is a transitional solution for early 5G commercialization. The entire 5G industry will also transition from NSA to SA. Balong 5000 is the world’s first chipset to support both SA and NSA networking modes, flexibly meeting requirements of users and carriers for communications of hardware devices in different stages of 5G development.
During early 5G commercialization, Balong 5000 enables users to use 5G networks in NSA networking mode to experience world-leading 5G rates. When the 5G network starts to migrate to SA networking, devices equipped with Balong 5000 can use SA networking-based 5G networks once carriers’ software is upgraded. This ensures benefits for users of existing devices. Devices supporting only NSA networking cannot enable 5G service when carriers move to 5G SA network. It means users have to switch to devices that support SA networking if they need 5G service. During this process, Balong 5000 will also meet the networking requirements of carriers in different phases, effectively reducing their cost of 5G deployment.
The Industry’s First Chipset to Support NR TDD and FDD Full Spectrum, Promoting 5G Experience Upgrade
In the 4G LTE era, the frequency spectrum are classified as FDD and TDD. In the 5G era, new frequency bands have larger bandwidth and higher frequency. This leads the TDD mode to be widely used, which is more flexible and better handles service traffic bursts. In the 5G era, most carriers will choose the TDD mode for new frequency bands. Some carriers may consider the problems of 5G coverage and new services, choosing the lower FDD frequency band. From this perspective, Balong 5000 has fully considered the deployment requirements of some carriers in the 5G era and their requirements for refarming 2G/3G frequency bands. Being the first chipset in the industry to support NR TDD and FDD full spectrum, Balong 5000 expands the application scope and scenarios of 5G spectrums, implements TDD and FDD with high and low frequency bands, and provides consumers with seamless mobile connections and superb 5G experience.
The Industry’s First Chipset to Support V2X, Providing Low-Latency and Highly-Reliable Connected Vehicle Solutions
Balong 5000 is the world’s first 5G multi-mode chipset that supports 3GPP R14 V2X. V2X is the latest connected vehicle solution launched based on 3GPP protocols. It is designed for intelligent transportation and connected vehicle applications, including vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure, and vehicle-to-human connections. These connections greatly improve vehicle security and transportation efficiency. V2X has two air interfaces: One is the PC5 interface and the other is the Uu interface. The PC5 interface is the air interface for communications between vehicles, while the Uu interface is the air interface for direct communications between the vehicle and the network. Balong 5000’s support for both PC5 and Uu interfaces enhances vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-network connections, making vehicles an important part of the future fully connected world.
Balong 5000 supports a broad range of 5G products in addition to 5G smartphones, including 5G home broadband devices, 5G vehicle-mounted devices, and 5G modules. This will bring superior high-speed 5G experience to consumers in more application scenarios, fully ushering in the 5G era.
[Beijing, China, January 24, 2019] Huawei officially launched its 5G multi-mode chipset Balong 5000 today – along with the first commercial 5G device powered by it, the Huawei 5G CPE Pro. Together, these two new products provide the world’s fastest wireless connections for your smartphone, your home, the office, and on the go.
Balong 5000 officially unlocks the 5G era. This chipset supports a broad range of 5G products in addition to smartphones, including home broadband devices, vehicle-mounted devices, and 5G modules. It will provide consumers with a brand new 5G experience across multiple scenarios.
“The Balong 5000 will open up a whole new world to consumers,” said the CEO of Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, Richard Yu. “It will enable everything to sense, and will provide the high-speed connections needed for pervasive intelligence. Powered by the Balong 5000, the Huawei 5G CPE Pro enables consumers to access networks more freely and enjoy an incredibly fast connected experience. Huawei has an integrated set of capabilities across chips, devices, cloud services, and networks. Building on these strengths, as the leader of the 5G era, we will bring an inspired, intelligent experience to global consumers in every aspect of their lives.”
Balong 5000: Ushering in the 5G era.
Huawei launches the world’s first single-chip multi-mode modem
With a small form factor and high degree of integration, Balong 5000 supports 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G on a single chip. It effectively reduces latency and power consumption when exchanging data between different modes, and will significantly enhance user experience in the early stages of commercial 5G deployment. Balong 5000 marks a significant step forward for the Balong series of chipsets.
Balong 5000 is the first chipset to perform to industry benchmarks for peak 5G download speeds. At Sub-6 GHz (low-frequency bands, the main spectrum used for 5G), Balong 5000 can achieve download speeds up to 4.6 Gbps. On mmWave spectrum (high-frequency bands used as extended spectrum for 5G), Balong 5000 can achieve download speeds up to 6.5 Gbps – 10 times faster than top 4G LTE speeds on the market today..
Balong 5000 is also the world’s first chipset that supports both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) network architectures for 5G. With non-standalone, 5G network architecture is built on top of legacy 4G LTE networks, whereas standalone 5G, as the name implies, will have its own independent architecture. Balong 5000 can flexibly meet different user and carrier requirements for connecting devices throughout different stages of 5G development.
Balong 5000 is the world’s first multi-mode chipset that supports Vehicle to Everything (V2X) communications, providing low-latency and highly reliable solutions for connected vehicles. Huawei’s 5G smartphones powered by Balong 5000 will be released at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Balong 5000
Overview:Balong 5000 is an industry-leading 5G multi-mode chipset that supports 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks on a single chip and ultra-fast 5G rate in the industry. Balong 5000 leads the industry in the 5G peak download rate. It achieves 4.6 Gbps in the Sub-6GHz frequency bands, twice the industry average. It also achieves 6.5 Gbps in the mmWave frequency bands and 7.5Gbps if plus LTE dual connection, 10 times faster than top 4G LTE speeds on the market today.In addition, Balong 5000 is the world’s first chipset to support both standalone (SA, 5G independent networking) and non-standalone (NSA, 5G network deployment on the basis of LTE) networking modes, providing a hardware foundation for enriching 5G application scenarios, and leading the 5G era.Key features:2G/3G/4G/5G Multi ModeFully compliant with 3GPP Release 15Sub-6GHz: 100MHz x 2CC CASub-6GHz：Downlink up to 4.6Gbps, Uplink up to 2.5GbpsmmWave：Downlink up to 6.5Gbps, Uplink up to 3.5GbpsFDD & TDD Spectrum AccessSA & NSA Fusion Network ArchitectureSupports 3GPP R14 V2X
Balong 5G01
Overview:The world’s first commercial chipset supporting the 3GPP standard for 5G, with theoretical downlink speeds of up to 2.3Gbps. It supports 5G across all frequency bands including sub-6GHz and millimeter wave (mmWave) to offer a complete 5G solution suitable for multiple use cases.Key features:First commercial 5G chipset3GPP Rel.15Peak data rate up to 2.3GbpsSub 6GHz and mmWaveNSA/SADL 256QAMSub 6GHz and mmWave