MWC Barcelona 2024: Wireless innovations enabling intelligent computing everywhere

Every year at Mobile World Congress Barcelona, as one of the wireless industry’s foremost innovators, we at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. are thrilled to present our cutting-edge lineup of technology demonstrations. This year, we continue to push the boundaries that will redefine the possibilities of connectivity. From the latest evolution of 5G Advanced to the groundbreaking potential of 6G technology, our demonstrations will transport you to a future where seamless connectivity and transformative experiences are the new normal. Whether you visit our booth at Hall 3 Stand 3E10 or explore our virtual showroom, prepare to be amazed by our most advanced wireless R&D prototypes and technology demonstrations. Join us as we shape the future of wireless technology at Mobile World Congress Barcelona!

Building the wireless foundations of tomorrow

We continue to make significant strides toward unlocking the true potential of wireless. We are focused on both evolutionary innovations that will fuel 5G Advanced going forward, as well as transformational technologies that can define 6G in 2030 and beyond. For MWC Barcelona, we are showcasing a curated set of representative foundational technologies that will be essential for our wireless future.

Giga-MIMO to unlock the upper midband spectrum

To prepare for the growing capacity demand coming in the 6G era, the wireless industry is exploring the possible use of new higher midband spectrum. The feasibility study of the 7 to 24 GHz range for wide-area communications — with a particular focus on the 7 GHz to 16 GHz range (called upper mid-band) — has recently begun with 5G Advanced Release 19, and this work is expected to continue through the end of this decade. Today, we are working with spectrum regulators and wireless ecosystem leaders to make this band ready for 6G. The enabling technology is what we call “Giga-MIMO”, an end-to-end system design. It has a much denser antenna array (e.g., 4096 antenna elements at 13 GHz) in the base station, but it’s comparable in size to the 5G massive MIMO, as well as a more complex device baseband and radio frequency (RF) design. This year, we are bringing the world’s first Giga-MIMO antenna prototype, designed to operate in the 13 GHz band, to MWC Barcelona.

New capabilities in our advanced mmWave deployment

Continuing our unwavering commitment to driving mmWave technology advancements, we are proud to demonstrate our newly expanded 5G mmWave test network in San Diego. This prototype network now implements hybrid beamforming to enhance the performance of multi-user MIMO and device mobility. It supports 5G Standalone (SA) and integrates innovative infrastructure options that can unlock new mmWave deployment efficiency. This includes simple and network-controlled repeaters, wireless access and backhaul (WAB), as well as reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) that can be used to extend network coverage across different settings and use cases. Looking toward 6G, mmWave is also a foundational enabler for integrated communications and sensing.

Wireless AI interoperability and efficiency enhancements

The generative artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is here — it’s impact will be transformative. Connectivity is critical to help generative AI scale and extend across the cloud, edge and device. AI is also critical to the future of connectivity, bringing the industry a unique opportunity to revolutionize the future of wireless technology. At Qualcomm Technologies, we are not only conducting cutting-edge research and enabling the broad commercial adoption of new wireless AI capabilities, but also working with the ecosystem to ensure wireless AI implementations are interoperable. Our first demo highlights a collaboration with Nokia Bell Labs, showcasing how sequential learning can enable a multi-vendor wireless AI system. The second demo extends our in-house prototype of AI-enabled mmWave beam management, now also supporting spatial-domain beam prediction.

Digital twin network

Although the concept of a digital twin is not new, its application to wireless networks for tangible benefits to the end user is groundbreaking. Building a digital twin that accurately represents the physical radio access network (RAN) and its dynamics can bring a full gamut of benefits to the network, including its design, operation, integration, testing, monitoring and maintenance. However, its value can only be sustained when the digital twin continues to mirror the physical twin with high fidelity. In our real-time over-the-air testbed for a digital twin network, we showcase how high-fidelity modeling of physical spaces, RF propagation and network element dynamics can deliver better user experiences and new capabilities including predictive mobility, enhanced positioning and deterministic network transformation.

On the path to sub-terahertz (Sub-THz)

Another longer-term research vector that has been garnering industry attention is the 6G enablement of sub-THz spectrum, which generally refers to those bands above 100 GHz but under 300 GHz. Sub-THz communication is poised to enable novel cable-free use cases, such as the wireless augmented data center and wireless fiber to the home. While this band range can unlock an incredible amount of bandwidth, it also brings a new set of challenges for the ecosystem. In this year’s demonstration, we showcase practical implementations of point-to-multipoint communications with new spectrum in the 140 GHz band and dynamically reconfigurable point-to-point wireless links in the data center.

Other foundational technology demonstrations

Beyond what’s highlighted above, we have also prepared deeper-dive technology demonstrations that showcase our progress this year. These advancements include crosslink interference mitigation for subband full duplex, enhanced link adaptation for improved system spectral efficiency, and a robust super-QAM design to enhance network energy efficiency. Learn more by talking to us at MWC Barcelona, or reaching out to us offline.

Embracing new services with 5G expansion

According to GSMA Intelligence, there are over 1.5 billion 5G connections worldwide, primarily from our smartphones. To unlock the full potential of 5G, we must expand its reach to new devices, use cases and industries. This year, we explore how new 5G technologies can revolutionize experiences beyond enhanced mobile broadband.

Advanced automotive connectivity

As 5G connectivity becomes increasingly integral to our automotive experiences, we continue to pioneer wireless technologies that can deliver enhanced system performance. This year, we scaled our advanced cloud platform to support more vulnerable road users (VRU) and demonstrated automotive safety scenarios at multiple intersections. Additionally, we showcased how vehicle trajectory information can be utilized to learn and predict wireless coverage, ensuring seamless automotive connectivity. Both demos are examples of potential connected services that combine our cloud services and wireless solutions.

Boundless AR with dynamic distributed compute

The potential of extended reality is truly immense, but providing a seamlessly rich and immersive experience across all network conditions presents a significant challenge. This year, we demonstrate how dynamic distributed compute holds the key to unlock boundless augmented reality (AR) experiences. Collaborating with Hololight and Ericsson, we show how processing can take place in the cloud when network conditions are optimal, and smoothly transition to on-device compute when needed.

5G reduced capability (RedCap) evolution

Since the launch of Snapdragon X35 5G RedCap modem-RF system in early 2023, we have witnessed a rapid global adoption of these low-complexity 5G devices. They are optimized for entry-level PCs, tablets, wearables and IoT devices. In this year’s demo, we showcase how 5G networks can scale to support more 5G devices by an order of magnitude with RedCap, while coexisting with other types of 5G devices and services, as well as how a new low-power wakeup receiver design can bring additional device power savings.

5G from space with non-terrestrial networks (NTN)

At the heart of our 5G vision lies the commitment to providing ubiquitous and reliable connectivity. 5G NTN represents the final frontier to fulfill this ambition. Not only does it bridge the coverage gaps of 5G terrestrial networks (TNs), but it also serves as the backup network during downtime. This year, our own advanced 5G NR NTN testbed demonstrates the first over-the-air call with emulated satellites and prototype devices. We are also proud to collaborate with Ericsson and Keysight on showcasing seamless mobility between TN/NTN and handovers between satellites. 

5G broadcast for media delivery

In our recent blog post, we delve into the inherent value of 5G broadcast and the key use cases it can enable for the mass market. Notably, we are witnessing a growing momentum within the broadcast industry to embrace 5G broadcast, as it delivers the most synergy with the global smartphone ecosystem. This year, in collaboration with Rohde & Schwarz and leading broadcasters worldwide, we reaffirm the readiness of 5G broadcast for broad commercial deployments.

What’s next?

At Qualcomm Technologies, we are thrilled to spearhead the evolution of 5G Advanced, anticipating its transformative impact on our world. This year holds immense significance for wireless communications. It marks the completion of the first 5G Advanced standard, 3GPP Release 18, while simultaneously initiating our efforts towards Release 19, which will propel 5G Advanced even further and serve as a crucial bridge to 6G.

In the interim, it is imperative for the industry to prioritize a complete transition to 5G Standalone and accelerate the deployment of additional mmWave capacity to meet the growing demands. I eagerly look forward to connecting with you at Mobile World Congress Barcelona and encourage you to stay tuned for more exciting updates.