MORRISVILLE – Lenovo and other China-based companies are committed to working with Qualcomm to bring next-generation 5G smartphones to market as soon as next year while committing to spend $2 billion on Qualcomm radio technology.
The partnership, called the “5G Initiative,” comes as AT&T, Verizon and other telecommunications providers work to develop 5G-capable networks that would enable much-faster wireless connections.
Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo also are part of the partnership.
“Lenovo started 5G technology research as well as productization since the global communications industry began the 5G standard-setting process, and we have been working closely with Qualcomm Technologies in both aspects,” said Yuanqing Yang, chairman and chief executive officer of Lenovo. “We hope to make our personal life and work smarter, and enable intelligent transformation across multiple industries through our concerted efforts.”
Lenovo, which operates one of its two global headquarters in Morrisville, is the corporate parent of Motorola. The world’s No. 2 PC manufacturer has struggled through several reorganizations and executive changes as it has sought to make its smartphone segment profitable.
5G is seen as the next lucrative frontier in wireless.
“5G will bring massive new opportunities to the mobile industry, and we are excited to work with these manufacturers on this 5G Pioneer Initiative,” said Cristiano Amon, president of Qualcomm, in a statement. “Qualcomm Technologies has close relationships within China’s mobile and semiconductor ecosystem, and we’ll continue to work with this ecosystem to drive innovation as we move from the 3G/4G era to the 5G era.”
