Spreadtrum Communications has begun production of a “next-generation” multimode LTE modem that it hopes will speed up the introduction of 4G devices in China.
The SC9620 is designed for use in smartphone and tablets supporting 3GPP LTE frequency bands with up to 150Mbps downlink speeds.
The Chinese company said its platform is compatible with 3-mode LTE devices supporting TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA and EDGE/GPRS/GSM configurations, and supports LTE-TTD bands 38, 39, 40 and 41.
Combined with Spreadtrum’s smartphone chipsets, the modem offers a completely off-the-shelf solution for LTE devices.
The vendor, which has supplied chipsets for brands including Lenovo and Coolpad, said it plans to introduce an off-the-shelf solution to five-mode LTE devices later this year.
Leo Li, chairman and CEO of Spreadtrum, commented: “Our turnkey solutions for LTE smartphones help reduce the overall time and cost involved in bringing 4G devices to the China market.
“We are pleased to partner with leading handset brands to bring devices to market that meet the needs of China consumers. With this chipset, we are expanding our portfolio to support 4G smartphones and tablets, which will help drive continuing growth in mobile chipset shipments.”
Qualcomm currently dominates the LTE chip space, but with the emergence of Cat6 chips, competitors such as Spreadtrum and MediaTek are looking to grab a share of the market.
While Qualcomm focuses its attention on high-end devices – its latest five-mode modem, the Gobi 9×35, is used in the Samsung Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-Advanced model – rivals are looking to deploy their chips in the entry-level LTE device market.