Qualcomm highlighted the role of the modem in LTE chipsets at its recent 4G Mobile Experience event in San Francisco, emphasizing that the performance of the modem – which controls interactions between the device and the network – is as important or more than applications processing that normally gets the spotlight when it comes to chipset capabilities and comparisons.
“A smartphone would only be a PDA without mobile connectivity,” noted Peter Carson, senior director of marketing at Qualcomm, adding that CPU bench-marking only represents about 15% of the value in a mobile chip set because it doesn’t account for a chipset’s connectivity performance.
“The modem is the foundation of the mobile experience,” said Alex Katouzian, Qualcomm’s senior VP of product management and product planning. “Optimizing for power and performance is vital.”
A well-designed modem, he explained, means longer battery life and more reliable network connection; an efficient modem doesn’t use as much power or network resources because it enables devices to get what they need quickly, and then get off the network, Katouzian said.
Qualcomm used the event to highlight the performance of its modems compared to others, isolating the connectivity aspect from other components of performance in both tablets and smartphones, playing high-definition video and other demonstrations. Modem performance was particularly evident in the video demos, with the slower modems requiring more pauses for buffering and the video lagging behind the smooth playback enabled by the faster modems.
This week, Ip.access – which counts Qualcomm among its shareholders – announced that its second-generation of small cell products will start shipping in the first quarter of 2014 based on UMTS chips from subsidiary Qualcomm Technologies. In a statement accompanying the news, Ip.access’ CEO Simon Brown noted that Qualcomm’s position in the smartphone market will become increasingly important as interactions between the wireless device and the network need to be more intelligent and efficient in order to deliver the best customer experience.
“Our small cell portfolio is targeted at giving operators the best possible coverage, capacity and network total cost of ownership, in the smallest possible product footprint,” Brown said. “Qualcomm’s track record and expertise allow us to carry its smartphone experience into our residential network products to maximize performance and enhance our new large scale deployments.”
“Without RF, you are not a wireless player,” Katouzian said at the Qualcomm event. “The modem is what makes you a mobile player, and the modems we have going in today are by far the best solution on the market.”
