Qualcomm Technologies and Swisscom, the Swiss telecommunications provider, together with device makers including LG, Askey, OPPO and WNC, have announced the introduction of 5G services in Europe with the launch of Swisscom’s 5G network. This rollout signals a rapid deployment of 5G networks and compatible Android smartphones across the region through the end of 2019.
Enrico Salvatori, Senior Vice President and President of Qualcomm Europe/MEA at Qualcomm Technologies, said: “Qualcomm Technologies is proud to support Swisscom in launching the first commercial 5G network in Europe. This milestone reflects strong collaboration across the ecosystem to accelerate 5G commercialization by a year, enabling new and exciting user experiences — and Qualcomm Technologies is central to that progress.”
“5G is now present in Europe and poised to fundamentally enhance the way we live and work,” Salvatori added.
In September, Swisscom and Ericsson completed what they described as Europe’s first end-to-end, multi-vendor 5G NR call in Burgdorf, Switzerland. The call took place over Swisscom’s 3GPP-compliant network using Ericsson’s radio technology and Ericsson’s Cloud Packet Core. Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Area Networks at Ericsson, said: “By achieving an end-to-end data call on the 3.5 GHz band and initiating the 5G network rollout, we are helping Swisscom bring 5G services to its customers more quickly. Early access to new technologies will prepare industries for 5G use cases that will benefit the whole of Switzerland.”
Qualcomm also announced the launch of new Snapdragon platforms for both premium and mid-tier devices earlier this week. The update adds two new chips to the 7-series — the Snapdragon 730 and 730G — and one to the 6-series, the Snapdragon 665. Kedar Kondap, Vice President of Product Management at Qualcomm, commented: “With the introduction of the Snapdragon 730, 730G and 665 Mobile Platforms, we are bringing features such as advanced AI, enhanced gaming and improved camera capabilities to a wide range of devices, delivering exceptional performance.”
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