MediaTek has unveiled an expansion in its lineup of modems and chipsets, introducing robust support for 5G RedCap. This advancement includes the introduction of the M60 modem IP and the MediaTek T300 chipset series. These cutting-edge solutions are geared towards easing the transition to 5G-NR (New Radio) across various applications, particularly those demanding prolonged battery life and efficiency. Such applications span wearables, lightweight AR (Augmented Reality) devices, IoT modules, and devices designed with edge AI capabilities.

RedCap, an abbreviation for “reduced capability,” has been purposefully crafted to extend the advantages of 5G to consumers, enterprises, and industrial devices. Leveraging the evolution of 5G networks towards Standalone (SA) architecture, RedCap pledges to deliver reliability for devices with low bandwidth demands. This approach allows for many of the benefits associated with 5G without incurring the typical costs and complexities associated with standard 5G solutions.

JC Hsu, Corporate Senior Vice President at MediaTek, emphasized, “Our RedCap solutions form a pivotal part of our mission to democratize 5G. They empower our customers to optimize components and deliver a spectrum of 5G-enabled devices spanning diverse applications and price points.”

Highlighting the advantages, Hsu added, “The migration to 5G RedCap will replace legacy 4G/LTE solutions, offering significantly enhanced power efficiency and more reliable user experiences compared to leading-edge 5G eMMB modem solutions and legacy 4G LTE Cat 4 and Cat 6 devices.”

The MediaTek T300 series heralded as the world’s initial 6nm Radio Frequency System-On-Chip (RFSOC) single die solution for RedCap, stands as a pioneering force in this domain. This RFSOC promises brands the opportunity to capitalize on the burgeoning RedCap market and craft innovative designs for applications in enterprise, industrial, consumer, AR, and data-card sectors. Based on the highly efficient TSMC 6nm process, the MediaTek T300 series integrates a single-core Arm Cortex-A35 within a significantly reduced PCB area, supporting data rates of up to 227 Mbps downlink and 122 Mbps uplink.

Both the T300 series and the M60 5G modem IP are aligned with the 3GPP R17 standard, merging MediaTek’s forefront power efficiency with coverage enhancements and remarkably low latency. The M60, by harnessing MediaTek’s UltraSave 4.0 technology and curtailing unnecessary paging receptions, offers up to a 70% reduction in power consumption compared to analogous 5G eMBB solutions and up to 75% power savings versus 4G LTE solutions.

These RedCap solutions from MediaTek are propelling a fresh wave of efficiency, reliability, and cost-effectiveness for 5G-enabled devices across consumer, enterprise, and industrial sectors. The MediaTek T300 series devices are set to undergo sampling in the first half of 2024, with commercial samples slated for the second half of the same year.