Gigabit LTE, a wireless technology that can sustain theoretical speeds up to 1Gbps will soon be available.
Qualcomm will be partnering with Netgear, Ericsson, and Australian carrier Telstra in delivering the world's first gigabit LTE device and network.
Currently, Qualcomm is announcing that a mobile hotspot, will be the first product to support gigabit LTE.
The mobile hotspot in Australia will be capable of hitting gigabit speeds on the go. It will use a variety of technologies to hit those high speeds, including carrier aggregation.
It runs on Telstra's existing LTE networks and will be available before the end of the year. Telstra has worked with Ericsson in developing the gigabit-ready network, which will go live before the end of the year, as reported by Android Central.
The hotspot is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X16 gigabit LTE modem, and will work on Telstra's network.
Qualcomm is announcing that its next-generation 800 series smartphone processor platform will include the X16 modem that supports gigabit LTE speeds, as reported by The Verge.
Furthermore, Qualcomm says that smartphones with the new chip - which doesn't yet have an official name, but will succeed the recently-launched Snapdragon 821 - will be available in the first half of next year.
The X16 modem represents a significant boost in speed over the 600Mpbs maximum speeds that the current X12 supports.
According to the Verge, Qualcomm expects that carriers in every market will launch gigabit LTE service once the modem is available and in smartphones.
Finally, Qualcomm is also looking to the future beyond next year, and is announcing its first 5G compatible modem.
The Snapdragon X50 is expected to be available in 2018 and will support speeds up to 5Gbps. The Snapdragon X50 supports 5G operations in the 28GHz band
The Snapdragon X50 5G modem will be available for sampling during the second half of next year. Commercial products employing the chip will be offered to consumers during the first half of 2018.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
