Embattled Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer Huawei has formally launched a 5G multi-mode radio chip, as well as a router powered by the 5G chip.
According to a January 24th, 2019 media release, Huawei’s ‘Balong 5000’ 5G radio chip is capable of connecting with 5G networks, while also supporting legacy 2G, 3G and 4G connections.
When sending and receiving data using lower frequency sub-6GHz bands, the new chip can reportedly reach download speeds of up to 4.6Gbps.
If relying on higher frequency mmWave spectrum, the Balong 5000 chip can reach download speeds of up to 6.5Gbps.
The Balong 5000 also supports both standalone and non-standalone 5G network architectures, meaning that the chip can work with 5G networks built off of existing 4G technology, as well as purely 5G network architecture.
Huawei added that the Balong 5000 supports vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, allowing the chip to power 5G connected vehicles.
In addition to the company’s new 5G radio chip, Huawei announced the ‘5G CPE Pro’ 5G router — itself powered by the Balong 5000.
According to Huawei, the 5G CPE Pro supports both 4G and 5G wireless connections.
Huawei said that the new router can download a 1GB HD video clip within three seconds, and it can also be used to stream 8K footage “without lag.”
The new router can reportedly deliver speeds of up to 4.8Gbps.
It’s worth noting that the 5G CPE Pro is Huawei’s latest 5G router.
The company previously used Mobile World Congress 2018 (MWC) to unveil the Balong 5G01 — Huawei’s and the world’s first commercial 5G modem.
Despite Huawei’s new product releases, the company’s reputation outside of China is still tainted by allegations of spying for the Chinese government, as well as the trade sanction violation charges currently lobbied against the company’s global CFO Meng Wanzhou.
Interestingly enough, however, Huawei’s decision to release two 5G-driven products despite the company’s current public relations troubles falls in line with Deloitte’s assessment that Huawei’s woes won’t slow down the rollout of 5G technology in 2019.
The release of the Balong 5000 5G radio chip makes Huawei the latest hardware manufacturer to release a 5G radio chip.
South Korean electronics giant Samsung unveiled its Exynos Modem 5100 in August 2018, while San Diego-based Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50 5G modem was in the hands of at least 19 companies looking to eventually release 5G smartphones in February 2018.
Source: Huawei
