MediaTek Unveils M80 5G Modem with mmWave Support

MediaTek has announced its new M80 5G modem which combines mmWave and sub-6 GHz 5G technologies onto a single chip. The M80 supports ultra-fast speeds on both non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) architectures, with a peak rate of 7.67 Gbps in the downlink and 3.76 Gbps in the uplink.

The M80 also supports dual 5G SIM, dual 5G NSA and SA networks, and dual Voice over New Radio (VoNR) for more reliable connectivity.

"As 5G rollouts accelerate, mmWave is becoming increasingly important, especially in the U.S. MediaTek's new 5G modem integrates support for both sub-6 GHz and mmWave networks to address this opportunity and give device makers more flexibility," said JC Hsu, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of MediaTek's Wireless Communications Business Unit. "To advance users' 5G experiences, the new modem supports the latest global cellular standards and specifications and it packs MediaTek's signature power savings technologies along with ultra-fast speeds."

MediaTek's 5G modems are ideal for a range of devices, including smartphones, PCs, Mi-Fi hotspots, broadband customer premise equipment (CPE), industrial IoT applications and more. MediaTek's first generation 5G modem, the M70, is built into MediaTek's Dimensity series of powerful and power-efficient chipsets for 5G smartphones.

The company's 5G portfolio also includes the MediaTek T700, which will power 5G PCs set to hit the market in 2021, along with MediaTek's T750 chipset for 5G fixed wireless access routers (FWA) and mobile hotspot devices.

The M80 has been tested against industry standards and is expected to sample with customers later in 2021. It offers operators around the world support for a full range of radio access technologies:

3GPP Release 16 standard

Sub-6 GHz and mmWave dual connectivity and carrier aggregation
5G NR (FR1) with more than two carrier aggregation
5G mmWave (FR2) up to 8CC
5G carrier aggregation with Mixed Duplex (TDD + FDD)
Dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) ready

The M80 integrates MediaTek's 5G UltraSave technologies which improve on the single-chip design to provide another layer of extensive power-saving enhancements. MediaTek's UltraSave Network Environment Detection and UltraSave OTA Content Awareness technologies dynamically adjust power configuration and operating frequency based on the network environment.

The M80 also integrates MediaTek's Dynamic Bandwidth Part (BWP) technology which is designed to optimize bandwidth use to accommodate light or heavy data throughput requests. Additionally, with the M80's Connected Mode DRX (C-DRX) technology the modem will regularly remain powered in connected standby even when there is no data activity.

MediaTek works closely with operators and partners around the world to bring consumers faster and more reliable 5G experiences. As a result, company's 5G technology has been validated by operators in more than 100 markets. MediaTek is also a founding member of the OpenRF Association, which was founded to help to speed up time-to-market for 5G device manufacturers with interoperable 5G RF Front-End (RFFE) solutions.