5G

ROBERT MOFFAT DEPUTY DIRECTOR , SALES & BUSINESS

DEVELOPMENT , MEDIATEK EUROPE is one of the world ’ s leading makers of SoCs , and at the forefront of 5G hardware innovation .

2020 , according to Moffat , saw incredible progress in the global 5G SoC market . “ At the beginning of 2020 , the 5G market was quite limited in terms of network availability and device choice – China was typically considered the ‘ early adopter ’ and more often than not , 5G capabilities were limited to flagship devices with a significant gap in pricing between 4G and 5G models ,” he reflects . “ As the year evolved , and despite the pandemic , we saw network operators continue to roll out 5G capabilities and expand their offering into most regions including Europe and North America .” MediaTek itself launched a new line of Dimensity 5G SoCs designed to meet demand for flagship and mass market devices , including the Dimensity 800U and Dimensity 700 , which deliver 5G capabilities into more mid-range and budget devices . By the end of the year , the company had shipped 45mn Dimensity 5G chipsets . This year , Moffat says that MediaTek ’ s plan is to “ truly make 5G accessible for all .”

4G vs 5G : two very different rollouts The pace at which 5G has gone from isolated tests to commercial launches to increasingly widespread adoption has been phenomenal . The speed at which the technology has begun to reach mainstream adoption compared to previous generations is , according to Moffat , a matter of available applications . “ When 4G arrived , content providers couldn ’ t widely benefit from OTT services for highly demanding capabilities like HD movie streaming – it risked being staggered and low-quality , despite the benefits of the 4G network itself ,” he explains . “ This limitation was overcome in time with better access to content and now , as 5G becomes more widely

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