MediaTek is on track to enter volume production of its first 5G SoC for sub-6GHz networks in January 2020, having begun sampling the chips in the third quarter of 2019, according to company CFO and spokesman David Ku.
New models of 5G-enabled smartphones powered by MediaTek's 5G SoCs are expected to hit the market in the first quarter of 2020, boosting sales at MediaTek, Ku said.
While unveiling its first 5G SoC to the public for the first time at the company's newly inaugurated wireless lab in Hsinchu, northern Taipei, company chairman Tsai Ming-kai said MediaTek is among a group of leaders in technology development and marketing of 5G chips.
MediaTek will continue to roll out full series of 5G chips for diverse applications in 2020, with more details about its 5G chips to be unveiled in December, Tsai said.
New 5G chips being planned for the most part of 2020 will support mainly sub-6GHz technology before the company begins to roll out new series of chips supporting mmWave standards at the end of 2020, Ku noted, adding that MediaTek will eventually develop single SoCs supporting both sub-6GHz and mmWave.
MediaTek said that it spent NT$5 billion (US$161.54 million) building the new wireless fab, which is dedicated to designing, developing and testing of related chipset solutions to grow its 5G technology capability.
MediaTek chairman Tsai Ming-kai showcasing its first 5G SoC
Photo: Michael Lee, Digitimes, September 2019
Article translated by Steve Shen
