The number of 5G-enabled devices is growing faster and faster (Source: GSA)

The Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has listed 1,060 5G-enabled devices and components by the end of September. However, around 30 percent of these have only been announced so far. But progress is also being made in terms of available chipsets.

The number of commercially available devices increased by 26.4 percent last quarter. It now stands at 704 across all 22 device classes. In fact, the GAMBoD database maintained by GSA shows a total of 1,060 entries from 158 vendors.

Of the 1,060 registered devices, smartphones naturally account for the largest number (523), followed in second place by indoor and outdoor receivers in the fixed wireless access (FWA) category, also known as radio DSL (188), which are mainly used in home and office environments. This user segment also includes 46 battery-powered mobile hotspots, 19 laptops and 8 USB terminals/dongles/modems.

Der größte Teil der registrierten Geräte entfällt auf Smartphones, aber auch die für die Industrie relevanten Kategorien legen zu. (Quelle: GSA)

Smartphones account for the largest share of registered devices, but categories relevant to the industry are also increasing. (Source: GSA)

Industrial-grade offerings growing

There is an increasingly wide range of routers and gateways for industry. Together with enterprise models, there are 70 entries in this category, plus 11 routers/modems/hotspots for use in vehicles. The abundance of 138 5G-capable communication modules is likely to meet with great interest among developers in mechanical engineering, the rail and transport sectors, and other industries. Here too, however, not all of the listed offerings are already available on the market, or not yet in quantities, but only as test, evaluation or developer kits.

Also possibly worth a look are the entries in the “Other Devices” category, which lists TVs and cameras, as well as robots, femtocells/small cells, vehicle OBUs, head-mounted displays and a switch.

Quelle: GSA

Source: GSA

“This milestone of reaching the 1000th device indicates both the progress of next generation networks but also, through the diverse range of available form factors, the huge potential that 5G has across a wide range of use cases.”

Joe Barrett, President of the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA)

 

To date, 180 operators have deployed commercial 5G networks (either mobile or FWA) in 72 countries or regions, according to GSA. 89 operators are investing in 5G standalone public networks, taking into account not only operators of 5G SA networks, but all those evaluating, testing, planning and deploying such networks. By the end of the year, GSA expects more than 800 devices to be available on the market and new devices to be announced.

Voraussetzung für Neuentwicklungen: Mehr verfügbare Chipsätze, Modems und Kommunikationsmodule. (Quelle: GSA)

Prerequisite for new developments: More available chipsets, modems and communication modules. (Source: GSA)

Rapid growth in chipsets

The GSA Analyzer for Mobile Broadband Data (GAMBoD) is a search and analysis tool for GSA members and GSA service subscribers with up-to-date information on 4G and 5G devices, technologies, and spectra (Website). The database now also allows users to search by chipset and chipset type. This excludes chips and transceivers for provider network infrastructure, but includes chipsets and modems for smaller cells (femtocells), such as those needed for 5G campus networks.

As of mid-September 2021, GSA has recorded 41 5G mobile processors or platforms and 17 discrete 5G modems available on the market. They come from five manufacturers: Hi-Silicon (Huawei), Mediatek, Qualcomm, Samsung and Tsinghua Unigroup (brand name UNISOC, formerly Spreadtrum). In addition, four 5G-capable processors or processor platforms and two 5G modems have been announced.

Die GSA-Datenbank liefert auch Informationen über die unterstützten IoT-Standards (Quelle: GSA)

The GSA database also provides information on the supported IoT standards (Source: GSA)

49 of the available chipsets (84.5 percent) support 5G SA networks, the same number support sub-6GHz networks, and 31 are suitable for mmWave. Voice over New Radio (VoNR) over 5G is possible with (at least) 37 available chipsets; not all manufacturers provide details on VoNR or 5G New Radio Carrier Aggregation.

The outlook of the GSA is extremely positive: The manufacturers’ association expects further providers to enter the market and the number of available chipsets and modems to continue to increase rapidly by the end of the year.