Global demand for 5G CPE (customer premise equipment) is expected to grow rapidly to 120 million units in 2025 from 100,000 units in 2019, prompting chipmakers such as Qualcomm and Huawei HiSilicon to step up rolling out relevant chip solutions, which in turn will provide new business opportunities for Taiwan-based certification and backend service firms, according to industry sources.
The sources said that 5G CPE devices will become a new R&D focus after 5G smartphones, and telecom operators, smartphone vendors and makers of routers and PCs may race to release diverse CPE products soon, driving demand for CPE chipsets for both sub 6GHz and mmWave applications.
China's HiSilicon now focuses more on developing chipsets for sub 6GHz before migrating to mmWave applications whether for 5G base stations, mobile devices or CPE gadgets. And its Taiwan partners such as IC testing and certification specialist Sporton International and backend service firms ASE, Siliconware Precision Industries and King Yuan Electronics are expected to continue rendering strong support to help the chipmaker better tap market demand for 5G CPE devices, the sources said.
Qulcomm, more active on mmWave deployment, has just unveiled at IFA 2019 the QTM 527 mmWave antenna module, designed for 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) CPE application. As the world's first module of its kind, QTM 527 can be paired with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X55 5G modem to handle fiber-level modem-to-antenna connections for mmWave CPE devices adopted by homes and businesses, regardless of their location.
QTM 527 can also incorporate RF system to support 64 dual-polarized antenna components to allow bi-directional communication through beam forming, beam steering and beam tracking, even if CPE users are located in isolated regions. The first wave of shipments of 5G FWA CPE devices adopting QTM 527 are slated to kick off in the first half of 2020, industry sources said.
The sources continued that 5G FWA CPE devices can be installed on rooftops or windows to directly receive 5G signals, skipping the "last-mile" fiber deployment needed for indoor broadband connection. Immense 5G CPE business opportunities are driving HiSilicon and Samsung to join the race of developing 5G antenna modules.
Qualcomm has reportedly contracted ASE and SPIL to process its 5G mmWave antenna modules with AiP (antenna in package) technology, and related testing and analysis orders will be released to Sporton, which has won the world's first 5G NR mmWave CPE testing certificate issued by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC ), the sources noted.
Article translated by Willis Ke
