MWC 2016: Intel sketches out plans for 5G 'network revolution'

Partnerships, and new silicon and modems to come from Intel in a bid to support 5G developments - which could come as early as 2018

Intel has used this year's Mobile World Congress to flesh out its 5G plans, including partnering with the biggest names in the networking industry to start trialling the next-gen technology.

For Intel, the forthcoming shift in communications technology represents an opportunity to re-assert itself after being largely locked out of the market by the ascent of ARM and its partners in mobile devices.

Intel is expecting a "network revolution" that will see the number of connected devices around the world hit 50 billion by 2020, partly driven by convergence of computing and communications, while wireless networks will become more "intelligent" and flexible.

The company's strategy will involve a series of collaborations - particularly with companies such as Huawei, Nokia and Verizon - on networking technologies and trials on 5G networking. The collaboration has already begun in the case of Verizon.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said during a separate keynote at MWC 2016 on Monday that 5G may even arrive as early as 2018 - sooner than Ofcom's promise of a 2020 rollout.

Other companies involved in the 5G push include AT&T, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, NTT Docomo, Telefónica, Vodafone, ZTE, Ericsson, Korea Telecom and SK Telecom.

Aicha Evans, general manager of Intel's Communications and Devices Group, said: "Communications are not going away, and we believe it's our responsibility as an ecosystem to make the networks ready [for 5G].

"It's about getting together and making sure we're developing trials and prototypes and taking advantage of major events that are going to present an opportunity to demonstrate the tech.

"Building on our existing portfolio of wireless products, new modems and SoCs will provide robust connectivity solutions for Internet of Things, mobile devices and PCs toward our path to 5G."

Intel also announced new modems and SoCs [systems-on-a-chip] to help with the early prototyping of 5G technology, including five solutions aimed squarely at Internet of Things devices, such as connected cars and wearables.

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