Together the technologies of Starlink and Qualcomm will improve performance per watt across radio, improving the terrestrial network for 5G and its spectral efficiency.
Qualcomm is set to supply radio equipment,baseband units to SpaceX and software for Starlink Mobile’s 5G terrestrial network. Within what Qualcomm described as their “biggest 5G deal”, the equipment will be deployed starting next year.
Starlink Mobile will use Massive MIMO (Multiple Inputs, Multiple Outputs) radio with 64 transmit and 64 receive paths (64T64R). The architecture brings advanced antenna capabilities to the company’s terrestrial network, improving its coverage, capacity, and spectral efficiency.
Qualcomm’s Dragonwing QRU100 platform provides highly integrated processing for Massive MIMO units and support radio functions behind 64T64R architecture, providing efficient performance and latency-sensitive Layer-1 processing. Together, the technologies improve performance per watt across radio, and translating energy efficiency into better network connectivity at scale.
