Qualcomm announces the X50 5G modem

Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon X50, which the company claims is the industry's first commercially-available 5G modem. The package is targeted at handset manufacturers and mobile bandwidth network operators, who can all use the X50 for testing as they roll out their next-generation mobile broadband networks.

The Snapdragon X50 modem operates in 5G's 28 GHz band in the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum, and supports beamforming and beam-tracking MIMO antenna technology. Qualcomm says the X50's maximum theoretical download speed can hit 5 Gbps. The X50 only ...