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Giga-MIMO
Global consensus around 7.1 GHz to 8.4 GHz as a 6G candidate band, and interest in the upper mid-band for future mobile broadband services, is coalescing. And to ensure that wide-area coverage using these bands can be quickly and cost-effectively deployed, Qualcomm is developing end-to-end Giga-MIMO systems that massively up the number of antenna elements as compared to massive MIMO systems, while maintaining a similar footprint to the 5G predecessor.
The high-level idea here is that the upper mid-band will be used as the 6G coverage layer; compare this to mid-band (3.5 GHz) spectrum serving as the coverage layer for 5G. Qualcomm’s prototype Giga-MIMO system supports mobile communications in the 13 GHz band with 4,096 antenna elements and 256 digital chains in a form factor comparable to 5G base stations.
6G spectrum expansion (7 to 16 GHz) with Qualcomm Giga-MIMO prototype
To prepare for the growing capacity demand coming in the 6G era, the wireless industry is exploring the possible use of new higher midband spectrum. The feasibility study of the 7 to 24 GHz range for wide-area communications — with a particular focus on the 7 GHz to 16 GHz range (called upper mid-band) — has recently begun with 5G Advanced Release 19, and this work is expected to continue through the end of this decade. Today, we are working with spectrum regulators and wireless ecosystem leaders to make this band ready for 6G. The enabling technology is what we call “Giga-MIMO”, an end-to-end system design. It has a much denser antenna array (e.g., 4096 antenna elements at 13 GHz) in the base station, but it’s comparable in size to the 5G massive MIMO, as well as a more complex device baseband and radio frequency (RF) design.
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