Some of you lovely people out there might have travelled or have aspirations to travel the world. You've got everything; laptop, clothes, emergency supplies, the kitchen sink and you've got a mobile phone too. The only problem with that is that the very mobile phone you carry around 'just incase' probably won't work in many places in the world because of the connectivity limits of your regional specific device.
Qualcomm are well aware that this will be a growing problem because LTE is being rolled out on over 40 cellular bands around the world. Qualcomm realise that, 'as mobile broadband technologies evolve, OEMs need to support 2G, 3G, 4G LTE and LTE Advanced technologies' all in that one phone that you pop in your pocket.
With that in mind Qualcomm's senior vice president of product management, Alex Katouzian, has said that:
“The wide range of radio frequencies used to implement 2G, 3G and 4G LTE networks globally presents an ongoing challenge for mobile device designers. Where 2G and 3G technologies each have been implemented on four to five different RF bands globally, the inclusion of LTE brings the total number of cellular bands to approximately 40. Our new RF devices are tightly integrated and will allow us the flexibility and scalability to supply OEMs of all types, from those requiring only a region-specific LTE solution, to those needing LTE global roaming support.”So the new RF360 chipset will be the combination of Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor and Gobi LTE modems which aims to create a "comprehensive, optimized, system-level LTE solution that is truly global."
The chipset is set to launch in the second half of the year and although it'll be expensive it may well prove to be priceless for some people. Don't be surprised if Apple includes something like this in the next iPhone, they're very keen on offering a 'global device'!
Qualcomm Via ZDNet.
