In order to make a Gigabit Class LTE modem a reality, Qualcomm added a suite of enhancements – built on a foundation of commercially-proven Carrier Aggregation technology. The Snapdragon X16 LTE cellular modem employs sophisticated digital signal processing to pack more bits per transmission with 256-QAM, receives data on four antennas through 4x4 MIMO, and supports for up to 4x Carrier Aggregation — all of which come together to achieve download speeds of up to 1 Gbps.

When you're blazing new trails, you want to take the entire world with you. As the mobile industry's first-announced LTE Advanced Pro modem, the Snapdragon X16 LTE modem supports Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), the global standard for deploying LTE in unlicensed spectrum. LAA vastly expands the number of operators around the globe that can offer Gigabit Class LTE service to their users by reducing the amount of licensed spectrum required.

As if being the first Gigabit Class LTE solution isn't impressive enough, the Snapdragon X16 LTE modem also does it with less space than previously required. Thanks to the new Qualcomm WTR5975 RF transceiver, a collection of advanced features and comprehensive band support, including 3.5 GHz and unlicensed 5 GHz, are now integrated into a single RF chip. A new digital interconnect interface between the transceiver and the modem simplify PCB layout to facilitate the implementation of the X16 LTE modem's advanced features for OEMs, and to free up valuable board space that can be utilized for larger batteries or more streamlined design.