Intel, a leader in the semiconductor industry, has announced on 16 April that it will no longer make 5G smartphone modem. As Intel decided to get out of 5G smartphone modem business, it will continue to focus its efforts on 4G and 5G modems in PCs, IoT devices and other data-centric devices.
Intel CEO Bob Swan, explained the reason behind this announcement through a press release, he said that there was “no clear path to profitability and positive returns” for the smartphone modem business. The company focus 5G efforts on network infrastructure and other data-centric opportunities.
“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 Intel CEO Bob Swan. “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 to meet current customer commitments for its existing 4G smartphone modem product line, but does not expect to launch 5G modem products in the smartphone space, including those originally planned for launches in 2020.
Intel expects to provide additional details in its upcoming first-quarter 2019 earnings release and conference call, scheduled for April 25.
