Qualcomm signs private 5G research pacts

Chip firm Qualcomm has announced a couple of private 5G collaborative projects with Siemens and Baicells.

Qualcomm and Siemens are putting their respective thinking hats on to ‘reimagine building automation’ with 5G private networks using Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System via some tests Siemens Chicagoland office in the US.

More specifically, they are playing around with 5G use cases around heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in an effort to improve energy efficiency, reduce costs of ownership, increase security, and provide proactive maintenance.

“We are proud of the collaboration with Siemens, bringing together its leadership in building automation, and our expertise in wireless and edge compute technologies,” said Sebastiano Di Filippo, Senior Director, Business Development, Qualcomm Europe. “Our teams worked closely to successfully prove the automated building use case. Qualcomm Technologies’ platforms have the power to unlock huge potential across multiple sectors, driving the Connected Intelligent Edge – where billions of smart connected devices can be deployed and impact a multitude of industries.”

Ivan Todorov, Head of Engineering for Siemens BP Americas at Siemens Smart Infrastructure USA added: “Joining Qualcomm Technologies’ capabilities with Siemens’ building automation domain experience creates a unique skillset that enables creation of a very innovative offering. “We see 5G as a key enabler that will bring to life an ecosystem of edge devices and services to help us meet some of the most pressing customer needs around energy efficiency, cyber security and decarbonization. In times of increasing technology complexity, we see partnering as key to optimizing time-to-market and value for the customer.”

While it’s in the mood, Qualcomm is also teaming up with Baicells through a pact to collaborate on 5G private networks for digital industrial transformation, such as industrial Internet, smart cities, Internet of Things, and other Industry 4.0 applications. The deal will also create ‘further value for social development’ – whatever that might mean.

Sun Lixin, Chairman and CEO of Baicells said: “The strategic partnership Baicells has developed with Qualcomm marks an important milestone for the company. Baicells is a leading driver of innovative 5G technical solutions, and together with Qualcomm, we will help to facilitate the deployment of 5G globally. We look forward to continuing to develop our strategic relationship in the future.”

There little ink wasted on telling us what the specific product of all this collaboration is going to be, but perhaps that’s the nature of all these 5G tests and trials that it seems everyone and their dog are working on now – tinkering around and seeing what comes out of it.

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