MediaTek has declared a new milestone in melding 5G network with satellite communications. According to MediaTek, it successfully powered a smartphone with a 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) in a lab environment, showcasing the possibility to support satellite communications with commercial 5G smartphones.
Partnering with Rodhe and Schwarz, a major supplier of telecom testing equipment, MediaTek’s lab tested its New Radio NTN-enabled chip by emulating a low Earth rbit (LEO) satellite constellation moving at the speed of 27000km/h at 600km attitude. MediaTek said the result demonstrated that 5G NTN technology could be compatible with satellite communications even with the same form factor and design components used in standard smartphones.
The latest announcement, which came on August 16, marks another step taken by the IC design house in the direction of linking regular commercial devices with satellites. In August 2020, MediaTek successfully established a bi-directional link between its narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) device and Inmarsat’s Alphasat L-band satellite in geostationary orbit (GEO). Inmarsat is a British satellite telecom company. The test was conducted in Italy’s Fucino Space Center, and the test device was developed by Taiwan’s Institute for Information Industry. According to Jonathan Beavon, Inmarsat’s senior director, the successful trial would pave the way to ubiquitous and hybrid global IoT coverage.
As 5G technology enters its third year of commercialization since its first introduction in 2019, its standards are still undergoing upgrades. By the end of this year, the global telecommunications standard body 3GPP is planning to complete Release 17 (Rel-17), the newest 5G standard specifications that are expected to bring forth 5G’s real potential in enterprise, especially industrial IoT, applications. Satellite communications, in this context, will play a key role in extending 5G’s global coverage to previously unreachable territories, and Release 17 will be the first to include 5G NTN. Competition has been underway for telecom chip vendors to tap into the market. MediaTek’s field test in 2020, for example, contributed to Rel-17’s standardization, while its latest experiment also met Rel-17 specifications.
Qualcomm, MediaTek’s main competitor, has also stepped into the arena. In this July, Qualcomm partnered with Ericsson and Thales, a French aerospace company, announcing plans to test 5G NTN components from satellite payload, networking equipment to smartphones. According to Ericsson, initial tests will also take place in an emulated space environment where Ericsson will verify a 5G virtual RAN stack designed to handle radio signal transmission in LEO satellites, while Qualcomm will verify if its smartphone chips can access 5G NTN.
Lately, MediaTek has lowered its revenue growth forecast this year due to inventory correction, and expects to post a 17-19% revenue increase in 2022. Rick Tsai, MediaTek CEO, believes that the trend may continue into the next three quarters. The company is also contemplating to raise 3G and 4G mobile chipset prices to mitigate disappointing 5G chipset sales. Nevertheless, MediaTek remains optimistic about 5G smartphone shipment in the coming few years, forecast to grow at a CAGR of 20%.
