The latest 5G modem from MediaTek is ready to give the fastest 5G capabilities to a range of devices later this year.

Supporting Sub-6 and mmWave 5G, along with the fastest 4G speeds for backward compatibility, the new MediaTek M80 modem is ready to power next-generation 5G devices, with the additional support of voice included too.

The new modem offers a peak rate download speed of 7.67Gbps and 3.76Gbps upload. Of course this will be lower in the real-world, but as networks continue to roll out more 5G bands and refarm older spectrum to 4G and 5G, the M80 will be ready to combine multiple bands to offer the best possible speeds in any given environment.

News of this modem launch follows the recent announcement of new 5G handset chipsets, Dimensity 1100 and 1200.

Press Release

MediaTek Unveils New M80 5G Modem with Support for mmWave and Sub-6 GHz 5G Networks New modem supports SA and NSA architectures, with a peak speed of 7.67 Gbps 

HSINCHU, Taiwan – Feb. 1, 2021 – MediaTek today announced its new M80 5G modem which combines mmWave and sub-6 GHz 5G technologies onto a single chip. The M80 supports ultra-fast speeds on both  non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) architectures, with a peak rate of 7.67 Gbps in the downlink  and 3.76 Gbps in the uplink. The M80 also supports dual 5G SIM, dual 5G NSA and SA networks, and dual Voice over New Radio (VoNR) for more reliable connectivity.  

“As 5G rollouts accelerate, mmWave is becoming increasingly important, especially in the U.S. MediaTek’s new 5G modem integrates support for both sub-6 GHz and mmWave networks to address  this opportunity and give device makers more flexibility,” said JC Hsu, Corporate Vice President and  General Manager of MediaTek’s Wireless Communications Business Unit. “To advance users’ 5G  experiences, the new modem supports the latest global cellular standards and specifications and it packs MediaTek’s signature power savings technologies along with ultra-fast speeds.” 

MediaTek’s 5G modems are ideal for a range of devices, including smartphones, PCs, Mi-Fi hotspots,  broadband customer premise equipment (CPE), industrial IoT applications and more. MediaTek’s first  generation 5G modem, the M70, is built into MediaTek’s Dimensity series of powerful and power efficient chipsets for 5G smartphones. The company’s 5G portfolio also includes the MediaTek T700,  which will power 5G PCs set to hit the market in 2021, along with MediaTek’s T750 chipset for 5G fixed wireless access routers (FWA) and mobile hotspot devices. 

The M80 has been tested against industry standards and is expected to sample with customers later in  2021. It offers operators around the world support for a full range of radio access technologies: 

∙ 3GPP Release 16 standard 

∙ Sub-6 GHz and mmWave dual connectivity and carrier aggregation 

∙ 5G NR (FR1) with more than two carrier aggregation 

∙ 5G mmWave (FR2) up to 8CC 

∙ 5G carrier aggregation with Mixed Duplex (TDD + FDD) 

∙ Dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) ready 

∙ 4G LTE Cat-19 DL up to 5CC 

The M80 integrates MediaTek’s 5G UltraSave technologies which improve on the single-chip design to  provide another layer of extensive power-saving enhancements. MediaTek’s UltraSave Network  Environment Detection and UltraSave OTA Content Awareness technologies dynamically adjust power  configuration and operating frequency based on the network environment. The M80 also integrates  MediaTek’s Dynamic Bandwidth Part (BWP) technology which is designed to optimize bandwidth use to  accommodate light or heavy data throughput requests. Additionally, with the M80’s Connected Mode DRX (C-DRX) technology the modem will regularly remain powered in connected standby even when  there is no data activity. 

MediaTek works closely with operators and partners around the world to bring consumers faster and  more reliable 5G experiences. As a result, company’s 5G technology has been validated by operators in  more than 100 markets. MediaTek is also a founding member of the OpenRF Association, which was  founded to help to speed up time-to-market for 5G device manufacturers with interoperable 5G RF  Front-End (RFFE) solutions.