Samsung claimed to have developed the industry’s first 5G modem which fully complies with 3GPP standards for 5G New Radio (NR), and is compatible with both sub-6GHz and mmWave spectrum.

The Exynos Modem 5100, which is compatible with 3GPP Release 15, delivers a maximum downlink speed of 2Gb/s on sub-6GHz airwaves and 6Gb/s using mmWave spectrum; speeds the company said are about 1.7-times and 5-times faster respectively than the data transfer rates of its predecessor.

It is built using 10nm process and supports legacy radio access technologies designed into a single chip. Samsung announced the modem would be available by the year-end, with compatible RFIC, Envelope Tracking and power management options available.

The company said it conducted a wireless NR data call test using a 5G base station and prototype end-user equipment running the Exynos Modem 5100.

In a statement, Inyup Kang, president of Samsung’s system LSI business, said: “As the industry prepares the shift toward 5G, Samsung will continue to drive the growth of innovative ideas and new services in mobile applications and other emerging industries.”

Industry group 3GPP finalised standalone 5G NR standards in June, which will operate alongside the non-standalone version of 3GPP’s Release 15 standard unveiled in December 2017.

Although Samsung laid a claim to producing the first compliant 5G modem, rival Qualcomm in February announced it had already begun signing up operators and device makers to trials of its X50 modem, albeit this product was announced before the standalone 5G NR specifications were finalised.