Samsung is getting ready for 5G handsets with an all-in-one modem that can handle cellular standards of the past and future alike. The Exynos Modem 5100 claims full compliance with the 3GPP 5G NR Release 15 standards, and Samsung claims it's the first 5G modem in the industry to achieve that compliance. To prove its mettle, Samsung used the Exynos Modem 5100 to successfully place a 5G NR data call with its own base station and handset prototype.
The Exynos Modem 5100 has support for both the sub-6-GHz and mmWave spectrums that form the two pillars of 5G connectivity, and it can also transmit on 2G GSM and CDMA networks, 3G WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, HSPA, and 4G LTE networks. That broad compatibility is important since 5G-NR will have a non-standalone deployment phase requiring the use of existing cellular infrastructure ahead of the 5G NR standalone deployment phase for true next-generation cellular networks.
Samsung claims the Exynos Modem 5100 is good for maximum downlink speeds of 2 Gbps on the sub-6-GHz bands of 5G and up to 6 Gbps in mmWave environments. For 4G LTE networks, the modem can suck down data at rates of up to 1.6 Gbps. Along with the modem itself, Samsung has a complementary family of radio-frequency IC, envelope tracking, and power management parts for use in 5G devices. Samsung says the Exynos Modem 5100 will be available to interested customers by the end of this year.
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