Intel has announced that it will no longer be working on 5G smartphone modems. Instead, the company will be doing an assessment of what opportunities there are for 4G and 5G modems for PCs, IoT devices, and other data-centric devices.
“We are very excited about the opportunity in 5G and the ‘cloudification’ of the network, but in the smartphone modem business it has become apparent that there is no clear path to profitability and positive returns,” said Bob Swan, CEO of Intel. “5G continues to be a strategic priority across Intel, and our team has developed a valuable portfolio of wireless products and intellectual property. We are assessing our options to realize the value we have created, including the opportunities in a wide variety of data-centric platforms and devices in a 5G world.”
Intel will continue meeting existing commitments for 4G smartphone modems, but will not launch new 5G products for smartphones, including ones that were originally slated for 2020 launches.
The company will provide more details on this decision in its Q1 earnings release and conference call, which is scheduled for April 25.
