Qualcomm Expands R&D Team In Taiwan In Preparation For 5G Era

Qualcomm Incorporated is actively expanding its local research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan in preparation for the dawn of the 5G era. This particular move is seen as the company’s way of getting closer to its Taiwanese partners including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) while they work on 5G mobile chips.

Industry sources told Digitimes on Friday that Qualcomm has already shifted some of its R&D resources from the United States to Taiwan in order for it to accelerate the development of its 5G chip solutions for upcoming smartphones.

The American telecommunications equipment company wants to maintain its competitiveness when the 5G era comes, so it is working hard to roll out the industry’s first 5G modem chip. Furthermore, Qualcomm wants to release related modular and laboratory solutions to push further the adoption of 5G technology.

Qualcomm has several partners that are based in Taiwan, but TSMC is the most prominent one. The two companies are said to be working on a 7nm Snapdragon mobile processor that will have 5G support. The chip will very likely make its debut sometime next year.

Sources also indicated that Qualcomm and TSMC’s collaboration isn’t going to be just for a single chip. The two firms are partnering to develop more new 5G chips that will be designed using more advanced process technologies.

As the industry moves forward with 5G technology, many areas will benefit due to significant latency reduction. Virtual reality (VR) is poised to see considerable growth because 5G will provide a more immersive experience through different applications. Commercial deployment of 5G is expected to enable mass adoption of full-featured, mobile-supported and high quality VR technologies.

According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, when 5G technology becomes available, the following VR applications are expected to flourish: gaming, live events, video entertainment, healthcare, education, military, engineering, civil aviation, agriculture, as well as government and public sector, among others.