WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.399 Welcome to episode 222. Wow, that's a crazy number, 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:06.820 my friend, of the G2 on 5G. It's the latest Insight 00:00:06.820 --> 00:00:09.400 Scoop on everything 5G. We cover six topics in 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:11.019 about 20 minutes, and it's brought to you by 00:00:11.019 --> 00:00:13.859 More Insights and Strategy. I'm Will Townsend, 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:16.000 and as you can probably tell, I'm at my place 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.399 in Florida this week. And joining me is fellow 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:22.839 analyst Anshul Sag. Let's get started with my 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:27.109 first topic. Mike Dano at Light Reading reported 00:00:27.109 --> 00:00:29.989 last week that T -Mobile could be testing 6G 00:00:29.989 --> 00:00:32.509 equipment. So I found this pretty interesting. 00:00:32.689 --> 00:00:36.890 The FCC granted a request by T -Mobile to test 00:00:36.890 --> 00:00:39.649 what T -Mobile calls an experimental prototype 00:00:39.649 --> 00:00:44.049 wireless equipment from Nokia. And this is near 00:00:44.049 --> 00:00:46.990 its headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. The 00:00:46.990 --> 00:00:51.429 spectrum band is in the 7 gigahertz to 8 .4 gigahertz 00:00:51.429 --> 00:00:54.289 range. And what was interesting, Mike reports 00:00:54.289 --> 00:00:59.130 in his article that this is pretty purpose -built 00:00:59.130 --> 00:01:02.850 spectrum for 6G deployment, given it provides 00:01:02.850 --> 00:01:05.290 10 to 20 times more capacity and higher data 00:01:05.290 --> 00:01:08.909 rates while reusing existing base stations. I 00:01:08.909 --> 00:01:10.890 don't know, man, it's pretty cool. And this is 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:15.150 corroborated by Nokia testing in a similar spectrum 00:01:15.150 --> 00:01:18.890 range. So this, all the talk. It's been about 00:01:18.890 --> 00:01:22.049 AI -infused core infrastructure and RAN infrastructure. 00:01:22.730 --> 00:01:25.250 But this is pretty cool stuff. What do you think, 00:01:25.310 --> 00:01:28.049 buddy? It seems pretty legit in the sense that, 00:01:28.069 --> 00:01:30.829 like you said, that there's FCC documents confirming 00:01:30.829 --> 00:01:33.549 that Nokia is testing in this spectrum. Yeah. 00:01:33.650 --> 00:01:36.590 As far as I understand, this spectrum isn't necessarily 00:01:36.590 --> 00:01:41.430 available yet. So I think both the 7 and 12 gigahertz 00:01:41.430 --> 00:01:44.310 spectrum that are being discussed for 6G are 00:01:44.310 --> 00:01:46.670 not quite cleared yet. So there might be some 00:01:46.670 --> 00:01:49.290 time. that needs to happen to clear that spectrum 00:01:49.290 --> 00:01:51.790 but it seems like it's a good idea and honestly 00:01:51.790 --> 00:01:55.189 if it's standalone spectrum if it's if 6g will 00:01:55.189 --> 00:01:57.329 be standalone as we expect it will be you probably 00:01:57.329 --> 00:02:01.409 want in a new band and you probably will eventually 00:02:01.409 --> 00:02:05.870 farm over other bands to that bit to 6g as found 00:02:05.870 --> 00:02:08.810 appropriate but it seems like it's interesting 00:02:08.810 --> 00:02:12.030 good timing i think we're about five years out 00:02:12.030 --> 00:02:14.669 most likely so there's a lot to figure out between 00:02:14.669 --> 00:02:16.830 now and then especially since seven gigahertz 00:02:16.830 --> 00:02:19.969 will not propagate very well outdoors at least 00:02:19.969 --> 00:02:24.030 and it will be probably very challenging to deal 00:02:24.030 --> 00:02:26.750 with the propagation characteristics because 00:02:26.750 --> 00:02:31.110 i think we all know that there's no in no interest 00:02:31.110 --> 00:02:34.870 in densifying networks even further that probably 00:02:34.870 --> 00:02:38.310 seems the lack of deployment of millimeter weight 00:02:38.310 --> 00:02:41.930 spectrum with 5g right yeah and i think If I 00:02:41.930 --> 00:02:44.550 remember correctly, the reason why 12 gigahertz 00:02:44.550 --> 00:02:48.250 or 6 gigahertz is chosen as the sub -6 versus 00:02:48.250 --> 00:02:51.750 non -sub -6 is because sub -6, the radio waves 00:02:51.750 --> 00:02:54.330 behave fairly similarly. Once you go above 6 00:02:54.330 --> 00:02:56.150 gigahertz, then it behaves a lot more like a 00:02:56.150 --> 00:02:58.530 millimeter wave, which means that 7 gigahertz 00:02:58.530 --> 00:03:01.710 will not propagate particularly well unless there 00:03:01.710 --> 00:03:03.789 are some tricks that are applied. And I've heard 00:03:03.789 --> 00:03:05.550 that there are some things that have already 00:03:05.550 --> 00:03:09.159 been discussed in making 7 gigahertz. propagate 00:03:09.159 --> 00:03:11.900 better we we already saw it i think with some 00:03:11.900 --> 00:03:17.639 2 .4 gigahertz spectrum 2 .5 even some 3 .6 right 00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:20.539 there are tricks that can be deployed to ensure 00:03:20.539 --> 00:03:24.759 better characteristics for things that shouldn't 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:26.819 trick the laws of fix but there's no real full 00:03:26.819 --> 00:03:29.560 breakage of them yeah i've rambled along enough 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:32.740 about the spectrum but i think we're still pretty 00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:36.819 we're pretty early and Six gigahertz has been 00:03:36.819 --> 00:03:39.680 harmonized globally for Wi -Fi in a lot of cases. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:42.259 So I think seven gigahertz feels like a better 00:03:42.259 --> 00:03:46.080 middle ground for everybody. Yeah, I would agree. 00:03:46.340 --> 00:03:49.599 To me, this really demonstrates that T -Mobile 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:53.919 is serious about maintaining its leadership with 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:57.020 respect to performance and coverage and all of 00:03:57.020 --> 00:04:01.620 that. And one of the secret pieces to this puzzle, 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:03.460 like we were just talking about densification, 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:07.300 Again, the introduction of AI, there's been a 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:09.479 lot of discussion around that, that could be 00:04:09.479 --> 00:04:11.759 part of the 6G standard. You and I have been 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:14.360 talking about this and speculating about 6G for 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:16.639 quite some time. There's been discussion around 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:19.839 terahertz spectrum as well. So it's all very 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:23.360 interesting, but given the fact that Nokia has 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:26.540 been testing similar equipment, it doesn't surprise 00:04:26.540 --> 00:04:29.259 me that, and obviously Nokia has got a lot of 00:04:29.259 --> 00:04:31.540 strength in history and with respect to brand 00:04:31.540 --> 00:04:34.589 development. But it's an interesting development. 00:04:34.689 --> 00:04:38.589 And as always, our buddy Mike is always fast 00:04:38.589 --> 00:04:40.910 on the uptake when it comes to stuff like that. 00:04:41.029 --> 00:04:43.449 But let's go to your first topic. And you want 00:04:43.449 --> 00:04:45.050 to talk about Google. They launched the Pixel 00:04:45.050 --> 00:04:48.910 9a. And you want to provide your insights about 00:04:48.910 --> 00:04:52.050 that mid -range. Yeah, Google's usual cadence 00:04:52.050 --> 00:04:54.449 when it comes to Pixel phones is they launch 00:04:54.449 --> 00:04:58.550 the primary spectrum. of their device so the 00:04:58.550 --> 00:05:00.889 pixel 9 series and then they'll launch the 9a 00:05:00.889 --> 00:05:04.689 about six months later and that's usually a cut 00:05:04.689 --> 00:05:08.610 down version of the flagship tier but at a much 00:05:08.610 --> 00:05:13.129 more affordable price the 9a is 499 so you can 00:05:13.129 --> 00:05:15.829 buy that phone outright and not think about or 00:05:15.829 --> 00:05:19.509 worry about cost and it's actually cheaper than 00:05:19.509 --> 00:05:24.769 the iphone 16e and it does still ship It's the 00:05:24.769 --> 00:05:26.769 same processor as the flagship series, which 00:05:26.769 --> 00:05:29.569 is you get a lot of the performance of the flagship 00:05:29.569 --> 00:05:33.009 series, but in a lower price tier. Obviously, 00:05:33.050 --> 00:05:37.009 it's also a lower quality camera. They went with 00:05:37.009 --> 00:05:41.069 an older modem. And I think that if you look 00:05:41.069 --> 00:05:44.009 at what this offers, it's got the Tensor G4. 00:05:44.189 --> 00:05:47.370 It comes with 8 gigs of RAM instead of 12. You 00:05:47.370 --> 00:05:49.930 still get an OLED display, which is really nice. 00:05:50.129 --> 00:05:52.899 You do get a dual camera, but... What's really 00:05:52.899 --> 00:05:55.660 interesting with the Pixel 9a is it has a bigger 00:05:55.660 --> 00:05:58.620 battery than the flagship series does. So it 00:05:58.620 --> 00:06:01.639 actually delivers better battery life than the 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:03.399 standard Pixel series, which is similar to how 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:07.060 the 16e is, where the budget version of the phone 00:06:07.060 --> 00:06:10.100 or the budget version of the flagship actually 00:06:10.100 --> 00:06:12.819 offers better battery life. And I think that's 00:06:12.819 --> 00:06:17.360 also an understanding of this type of user cares 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:19.639 more about battery life than most other things. 00:06:20.350 --> 00:06:22.990 And as a result of that, you get really good 00:06:22.990 --> 00:06:26.389 battery life. I have not used one yet. Mine is 00:06:26.389 --> 00:06:29.069 on the way, so I will talk to it down the road. 00:06:29.230 --> 00:06:32.050 Since I'm not pressed, I get my devices sometimes 00:06:32.050 --> 00:06:33.870 later than everybody else, which is perfectly 00:06:33.870 --> 00:06:36.629 fine. But this will work on all major networks. 00:06:37.029 --> 00:06:40.360 You can still use it on Google Fi. But yeah, 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:43.100 it's a good phone. It pretty much performs very 00:06:43.100 --> 00:06:45.439 similarly to the other Pixel series. It does 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:47.899 have a downgraded modem. It will not support 00:06:47.899 --> 00:06:50.040 some of the satellite features of the flagship 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:53.240 series, like satellite messaging. And I understand 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:55.459 that the older modem is also probably not going 00:06:55.459 --> 00:06:58.079 to have as good coverage. So it's very similar 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:00.759 to the iPhone 16e in the sense that it's a cut 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:03.300 down modem with a bigger battery in it, which 00:07:03.300 --> 00:07:06.620 compensates maybe for the less good modem. But 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:09.470 otherwise, it's a good phone. Generally, the 00:07:09.470 --> 00:07:12.329 Pixel A series has been what I recommend to people 00:07:12.329 --> 00:07:15.050 if they're switching to Android and don't want 00:07:15.050 --> 00:07:17.509 to spend a lot of money. If they're a longtime 00:07:17.509 --> 00:07:19.750 Android user but don't want to spend a lot but 00:07:19.750 --> 00:07:21.889 still want to get a lot out of the phone, it's 00:07:21.889 --> 00:07:24.009 the default recommendation. I've used almost 00:07:24.009 --> 00:07:27.709 every A series. I have an 8A over there. So the 00:07:27.709 --> 00:07:29.959 9A will be good. all the reviews have been really 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:32.800 positive obviously expectations are lowered at 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:36.420 499 but generally us struggles with devices that 00:07:36.420 --> 00:07:38.379 are in the mid -range between the high end and 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:41.379 the free phones so there aren't that many choices 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:43.339 that are quite good it's basically samsung and 00:07:43.339 --> 00:07:45.899 pixel there are some one plus devices as well 00:07:45.899 --> 00:07:48.160 but it's you can count them on your hand and 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:50.620 other regions like india and china have a lot 00:07:50.620 --> 00:07:54.079 more choices there oh yeah i will also add it's 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:56.120 i don't know where it is it's not here but Poco 00:07:56.120 --> 00:08:02.079 did launch a 499 flagship -ish phone with a Snapdragon 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:05.220 8 Elite processor in it, which is probably the 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:08.660 fastest and most capable phone in terms of price 00:08:08.660 --> 00:08:12.079 and capability. That is an offshoot of Xiaomi, 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:14.879 and they are probably also one of the few that 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:17.120 will offer something in that category. So there 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:19.759 are not that many devices in that tier, but the 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:21.160 Pixel 9a is definitely one of the better ones. 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:25.060 Yeah, it's interesting providing better battery 00:08:25.060 --> 00:08:27.860 capacity and battery life, right? That's typically 00:08:27.860 --> 00:08:30.639 something that you might find in more of a premium 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:33.320 phone. So is it also based on the fact that you've 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:37.259 got fewer radios in the 9A? I'm not really sure. 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.360 I would say the battery is mostly, I think, a 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:44.600 function of them trying to focus on delivering 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:47.320 the experience that their customers want to have. 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:49.480 They're obviously saving money on other things. 00:08:50.460 --> 00:08:52.720 There are some Chinese flagship phones out there 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:55.679 that have 6 ,000 mAh batteries. So there is a 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:58.440 top tier for battery. We're not really seeing 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:00.539 it in the U .S. The only phone that really has 00:09:00.539 --> 00:09:02.740 it right now is the OnePlus 13, which I also 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:05.820 reviewed. That also had insane battery life. 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:08.220 But I would expect this to have incredibly good 00:09:08.220 --> 00:09:10.279 battery life as well. And they're probably clocking 00:09:10.279 --> 00:09:12.419 down to the Tensor G4 a little bit based on the 00:09:12.419 --> 00:09:14.799 benchmarks that I've seen. I would expect so 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:17.279 that it's detuned a little bit to get that better 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:19.519 battery life. But you're the device expert. I'm 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:20.860 the infrastructure guy, so I'm going to stick 00:09:20.860 --> 00:09:23.799 to my stuff. But hey, I want to talk, my second 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:25.720 topic, I want to talk about Vodafone. And I thought 00:09:25.720 --> 00:09:28.820 this was pretty compelling. They recently connected 00:09:28.820 --> 00:09:33.960 their 200 millionth IoT device. And I think this 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:36.860 is pretty phenomenal. IoT has been slow to monetize. 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:38.720 I think we've talked about it on numerous occasions. 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:41.220 Bill Curtis, our analyst in residence at More 00:09:41.220 --> 00:09:44.220 Insights and Strategy. Covers IoT, so I don't 00:09:44.220 --> 00:09:45.980 want to go too far out of my swim lane here, 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:49.240 but I think it's really interesting. And so this 00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:51.960 was an article that I found on RCR Wireless last 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:55.659 week. And within the article, they talk about 00:09:55.659 --> 00:09:59.080 Vodafone hitting that. Also, just in general, 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:01.960 that the carrier has experienced an accelerated 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:06.120 sales rate of 50 % year over year over the last 00:10:06.120 --> 00:10:09.820 five years, which it's doubled its volume. The 00:10:09.820 --> 00:10:13.639 reality is IoT is monetizable. It just, I think 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:16.519 expectations were set really high and what was 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:18.799 going to happen with narrow band and what would 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:21.600 the connectivity modality be there? We've talked 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:23.980 about LoRaWAN, but certainly, and then I recently 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:27.879 met a company FlowLive and they build networking 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:31.480 infrastructure for IoT. They do a lot of the 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:34.840 orchestration on IoT and speaking with them. 00:10:35.340 --> 00:10:37.700 They believe a 5G network is the best network 00:10:37.700 --> 00:10:40.840 to support not only narrowband and industrial 00:10:40.840 --> 00:10:43.399 IoT, but obviously everything else that gets 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:46.379 hung on a mobile network. So I thought this was 00:10:46.379 --> 00:10:49.679 pretty incredible. The cool thing is I finally 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:52.279 have made a connection with Vodafone. And so 00:10:52.279 --> 00:10:54.519 I'll be getting a briefing here in the next couple 00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:56.960 of weeks to spend more time with them. to not 00:10:56.960 --> 00:10:59.799 only dive into what they're doing with IoT, but 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:01.519 also to discuss some of the other things that 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:04.039 they're doing. They're a big adopter of Open 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:07.279 RAN, and obviously they're a huge force to be 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:10.080 reckoned with in other parts of the world as 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:12.460 well. But I don't know if you caught the news. 00:11:12.659 --> 00:11:14.679 Any thoughts before we move to your second topic? 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:17.899 I did. When we were filling out our topics, I 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:20.340 saw this. I was going to put it down on the side. 00:11:20.419 --> 00:11:22.659 You'd already done so. So I think it's cool. 00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:25.169 I think it also shows that Vodafone. I think 00:11:25.169 --> 00:11:27.129 people really underestimate the size of Vodafone 00:11:27.129 --> 00:11:30.710 as a global entity. So I think this kind of is 00:11:30.710 --> 00:11:33.549 a reminder that they're very large and they used 00:11:33.549 --> 00:11:36.169 to own 50 % of Verizon, but they're quite large 00:11:36.169 --> 00:11:38.309 and they have a lot of influence and they're 00:11:38.309 --> 00:11:41.970 always on the edge of enabling the latest technologies. 00:11:43.009 --> 00:11:46.080 Yeah. Awesome. Great insights, my friend. All 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:48.320 right, your second topic. We're going to talk 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:49.919 about REDCap. I mean, this seems to be one of 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:52.779 your favorite topics, but the GSA is forming 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:56.179 a 5G REDCap special group, and you want to talk 00:11:56.179 --> 00:11:59.970 a little bit about that today. Yes. So the GSA, 00:12:00.129 --> 00:12:02.350 which is the Global Mobile Suppliers Association, 00:12:02.730 --> 00:12:05.370 there's a lot of GSAs out there. Their goal is 00:12:05.370 --> 00:12:08.990 to create this special group to facilitate and 00:12:08.990 --> 00:12:11.090 collaborate on RedCap networks, features, and 00:12:11.090 --> 00:12:13.789 product rollouts. The founding members are Ericsson, 00:12:13.909 --> 00:12:16.649 Huawei, Qualcomm, and MediaTek. So two infrastructure 00:12:16.649 --> 00:12:19.490 providers and two endpoint providers, which is 00:12:19.490 --> 00:12:22.490 good. I just accidentally triggered some kind 00:12:22.490 --> 00:12:25.879 of AI on my camera that... shot me out here. 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:28.220 So now you get to see my whole office, including 00:12:28.220 --> 00:12:32.120 some of my monitoring. That's the hand gestures. 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:33.620 I don't know what I was doing. It's my fault. 00:12:33.740 --> 00:12:37.940 But yeah, the key here is that 5G REDCap requires 00:12:37.940 --> 00:12:41.440 standalone networks. And the truth is that there's 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:46.039 a lot of opportunity in IoT and in non -smartphone 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:49.059 applications for REDCap. I've obviously talked 00:12:49.059 --> 00:12:51.799 plenty about Red Captain, blabbed endlessly about 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:53.659 it. I have a review of that device coming fairly 00:12:53.659 --> 00:12:57.639 soon, calling it Wildit 5G, which is fun. And 00:12:57.639 --> 00:12:59.840 yeah, I just think that this is really good for 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:03.460 the industry because one, it pushes more towards 00:13:03.460 --> 00:13:05.139 standalone, which is important, which is what 00:13:05.139 --> 00:13:07.779 we need for 5G. There needs to be more standalone 00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:11.080 for real 5G applications to occur, but also we 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:14.080 need more. collaboration between all the players 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:17.120 because these modems need to be integrated pretty 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:20.000 well. They're very low power, but they can offer 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:22.659 a lot of new and unique services that we've been 00:13:22.659 --> 00:13:24.720 thinking about and planning for years that just 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:27.419 weren't possible because 5G is just way too power 00:13:27.419 --> 00:13:29.980 hungry for a lot of applications. And RedCap, 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:32.860 in my experience, as I tested it, it was using 00:13:32.860 --> 00:13:36.139 well under a watt in most use cases. And only 00:13:36.139 --> 00:13:39.059 when you are uploading A significant amount of 00:13:39.059 --> 00:13:41.139 data. Did you ever go over one watt? I think 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:43.840 there's a lot of opportunities here to fine tune 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:48.080 and understand applications for REDCap and potentially 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:50.700 replace a lot of 3G and 4G infrastructure, but 00:13:50.700 --> 00:13:53.259 also expand to new use cases. I tried connecting 00:13:53.259 --> 00:13:56.000 it to my TV, to a Kindle and a bunch of other 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:58.299 devices. Some were successful, some were not. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:00.240 But I think there's a lot of opportunities where 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:03.100 maybe MediaTek and Qualcomm work with device 00:14:03.100 --> 00:14:07.250 OEMs to properly build their devices to. be pre 00:14:07.250 --> 00:14:10.629 -built to enable REDCap and utilize 5G standalone. 00:14:10.830 --> 00:14:13.230 I think it's really interesting and it's exciting, 00:14:13.450 --> 00:14:17.070 but standalone 5G is the key here and we need 00:14:17.070 --> 00:14:18.830 to push more operators to move in that direction. 00:14:19.009 --> 00:14:22.570 Yeah. And the application of 5G REDCap will do 00:14:22.570 --> 00:14:26.750 that. What I'm very excited about is the use 00:14:26.750 --> 00:14:29.529 case around wearables, right? And integrating 00:14:29.529 --> 00:14:33.269 very low cost sensors into clothing. And that's 00:14:33.269 --> 00:14:34.730 something that's been discussed for quite some 00:14:34.730 --> 00:14:36.789 time, but it was chicken and egg, right? Because 00:14:36.789 --> 00:14:39.509 not only the bill of materials, but the power 00:14:39.509 --> 00:14:42.909 requirement to do that. And so like, I think 00:14:42.909 --> 00:14:45.269 potentially we're going to see a lot of innovation 00:14:45.269 --> 00:14:48.809 with respect to the integration of sensors into 00:14:48.809 --> 00:14:52.799 shoes, into clothing, health tech. kind of applications. 00:14:52.899 --> 00:14:55.399 What are some of the other use cases do you think 00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:57.940 are going to rise to the top? I think there's 00:14:57.940 --> 00:14:59.500 going to be a lot of industrial applications. 00:14:59.960 --> 00:15:02.960 Because right now, if you think about the cost 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:05.740 of a 5G module or even a 4G module, it's still 00:15:05.740 --> 00:15:09.580 very high. T -Mobile with TCL, the device that 00:15:09.580 --> 00:15:12.659 they were selling was like $60. I think they 00:15:12.659 --> 00:15:14.220 retailed it for $90, but they were selling for 00:15:14.220 --> 00:15:16.100 $60. And honestly, they were just giving it away. 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:18.620 They were also lowering the price of the plant 00:15:18.620 --> 00:15:21.720 to $5 a month. while you're not getting very 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:24.379 fast speeds you are getting connectivity for 00:15:24.379 --> 00:15:27.139 five dollars a month and that's basically like 00:15:27.139 --> 00:15:29.620 a smart watch plan essentially right and i think 00:15:29.620 --> 00:15:32.860 that i could see to your point where health wearables 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:36.240 having more 5G modems in them, because first 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:39.059 of all, it's way more secure, but also they don't 00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:40.860 always need to be connected all the time. They 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:43.000 only need to connect when, as they're connected. 00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:45.460 So AI will help to decide when communication 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:48.080 needs to occur with the network. And I think 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:50.399 there are some significant power savings and 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:53.419 bomb cost savings because this thing, it connected 00:15:53.419 --> 00:15:56.019 via USB -C port for power. So it didn't even 00:15:56.019 --> 00:15:57.779 have a battery. So you could create some of these 00:15:57.779 --> 00:16:00.240 modules where It's so low power that you just 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:04.059 power it over USB -C and you can attach it to 00:16:04.059 --> 00:16:06.779 certain things like AR glasses down the road. 00:16:06.940 --> 00:16:09.659 But I also think that subsequent generations 00:16:09.659 --> 00:16:12.820 may be built on more advanced process node tech 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:16.299 could operate, create some integrated 5G modems 00:16:16.299 --> 00:16:19.580 for AR glasses or other wearable devices that 00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:21.840 we aren't using today, but also integrating them 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:24.779 into equipment that otherwise wouldn't have had 00:16:24.779 --> 00:16:27.169 it. Due to power constraints or cost constraints 00:16:27.169 --> 00:16:30.330 that I think could actually expand pretty quickly. 00:16:30.649 --> 00:16:33.730 Yeah, no, I agree. Great insights, buddy. Hey, 00:16:33.809 --> 00:16:35.909 I want to hit my third and final topic. And this 00:16:35.909 --> 00:16:39.110 is pretty late breaking news. So AT &T and AST 00:16:39.110 --> 00:16:42.710 Space Mobile are set for FirstNet trials. So 00:16:42.710 --> 00:16:46.289 this news just broke this week. And basically 00:16:46.289 --> 00:16:49.870 it's band 14. And so the FCC is allowing AT &T 00:16:49.870 --> 00:16:53.950 and AST permission to test direct to cell satellite 00:16:53.950 --> 00:16:57.919 connectivity. over that. And as I'm reading through 00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:00.200 the article, it's part of a broader initiative 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:02.960 to extend FirstNet's mission -critical capabilities 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:05.880 beyond the reach of traditional terrestrial infrastructure. 00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:11.019 But it's important to note that AT &T has deployed 00:17:11.019 --> 00:17:14.680 satellite colts and that sort of thing in times 00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:18.339 of natural disaster. I've visited a few facilities, 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:20.160 one in New Orleans. I've probably mentioned this 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:23.650 a number of times on our podcast. It's just another 00:17:23.650 --> 00:17:26.650 validation as AST Space Mobile moves forward. 00:17:26.970 --> 00:17:29.170 What do you think? Yeah, I saw this news as well. 00:17:29.269 --> 00:17:32.289 I thought it was pretty big. I think one, it's 00:17:32.289 --> 00:17:34.150 big for FirstNet because it gives them a satellite 00:17:34.150 --> 00:17:36.509 provider that's pretty well known. Oh, there 00:17:36.509 --> 00:17:39.490 we go. Back to tight shot. I figured out how 00:17:39.490 --> 00:17:42.349 to use it now. But yeah, I think it also helps 00:17:42.349 --> 00:17:46.329 AST continue to show their relevance in the market. 00:17:46.769 --> 00:17:48.930 And this is one of the best applications for 00:17:48.930 --> 00:17:51.809 direct to sell. I think this is use case number 00:17:51.809 --> 00:17:54.869 one. is emergency services. I think it's exciting. 00:17:55.329 --> 00:17:57.829 And T -Mobile is already offering this with T 00:17:57.829 --> 00:18:02.170 -Priority. It makes total sense. It makes total 00:18:02.170 --> 00:18:04.750 sense to me. I think every single provider should 00:18:04.750 --> 00:18:07.069 be offering Satellite as a component of their 00:18:07.069 --> 00:18:09.549 emergency services offerings. It makes total 00:18:09.549 --> 00:18:12.230 sense. You know, AT &T is a big provider when 00:18:12.230 --> 00:18:15.289 it comes to FirstNet. Honestly, I'm surprised 00:18:15.289 --> 00:18:17.309 it took this long. I would have expected this 00:18:17.309 --> 00:18:20.450 to have come sooner. but it's good to know it's 00:18:20.450 --> 00:18:23.069 happening nonetheless and this was also something 00:18:23.069 --> 00:18:25.250 that i caught so i'm glad that you had as topic 00:18:25.250 --> 00:18:27.990 yeah late breaking because we didn't get to record 00:18:27.990 --> 00:18:30.950 a podcast last week you and i have been on the 00:18:30.950 --> 00:18:32.869 road for weeks and weeks but we're getting back 00:18:32.869 --> 00:18:35.789 into the swing but with that let's say your last 00:18:35.789 --> 00:18:37.769 topic and you want to talk about mediatek and 00:18:37.769 --> 00:18:40.589 they've announced a new dimensity solution and 00:18:40.589 --> 00:18:44.130 another that i can't even pronounce so i'm going 00:18:44.130 --> 00:18:46.190 to look okay i got this so that's the companion 00:18:46.190 --> 00:18:50.089 ultra okay basically This happened last week 00:18:50.089 --> 00:18:52.710 as well. These are two products that are launching 00:18:52.710 --> 00:18:56.490 in the next few weeks. The Dimensity 9400 Plus 00:18:56.490 --> 00:19:00.529 is a minor speed bump to the Dimensity 9400, 00:19:00.670 --> 00:19:02.910 which is already in market. And it's really designed 00:19:02.910 --> 00:19:08.730 to enable high -end flagship devices. And you'll 00:19:08.730 --> 00:19:12.950 see the 9400 almost exclusively in phones. The 00:19:12.950 --> 00:19:17.769 main use case for this is flagship phones, mostly 00:19:17.769 --> 00:19:21.130 in China. So it's a lot of the same OEMs like 00:19:21.130 --> 00:19:25.970 Oppo, Vivo, and other Chinese. And then the truth 00:19:25.970 --> 00:19:28.809 is it's really an AI performance boost in a lot 00:19:28.809 --> 00:19:32.029 of ways. It does have the same NPU and the same 00:19:32.029 --> 00:19:35.109 CPU cores as a 9400, but there's a little bit 00:19:35.109 --> 00:19:38.630 of optimizations for certain capabilities like 00:19:38.630 --> 00:19:42.200 running DeepSeq's R1 model. So that's what they're 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:44.599 really focused on in enhancing FPA calculations. 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:47.960 There's also some improved Baidu satellite support. 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:50.960 So like faster time to fix, 33 % faster in fact. 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:54.140 Very clearly small tweaks, but designed to make 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:56.740 it a slightly enhanced version. And then they 00:19:56.740 --> 00:19:59.140 also did some graphics software optimizations 00:19:59.140 --> 00:20:01.500 as well. So there's, it's like a lot of tweaking 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:04.460 here and there. And then the Companio Ultra is 00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:07.819 a chip specifically for Chromebooks. And I think 00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:10.059 this will actually get a lot of traction. at 00:20:10.059 --> 00:20:12.279 the high end of Chromebooks because it has very 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:15.440 similar configuration to the media, the 9 ,400 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:20.240 in terms of CPU, GPU, and NPU. It's for PC use. 00:20:20.380 --> 00:20:23.319 So Chromebooks running Chrome OS, but really 00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:26.039 it's for Chrome OS plus, which is specifically 00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:30.490 the Gemini capable. version of Chromebook. So 00:20:30.490 --> 00:20:32.809 it's a lot more enhanced with more AI capabilities 00:20:32.809 --> 00:20:35.730 with all the G Suite and anything that runs Android. 00:20:35.869 --> 00:20:37.730 And it's on the three nanometer process node. 00:20:37.789 --> 00:20:39.730 So it's going to get good battery life. They 00:20:39.730 --> 00:20:42.630 made a lot of comparisons to Intel's Core Ultra 00:20:42.630 --> 00:20:46.109 125U, which I think is one of the bigger chips 00:20:46.109 --> 00:20:48.450 in that higher end of the Chromebook market. 00:20:48.650 --> 00:20:51.950 They're claiming that it's 30 % better battery 00:20:51.950 --> 00:20:55.250 life and also better performance than Intel's 00:20:55.250 --> 00:20:59.160 GPU. Intel's CPU. So they're saying 18 % faster 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:01.440 CPU performance and 40 % better GPU performance 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:05.339 and 50 % less power consumption. So they're really 00:21:05.339 --> 00:21:07.539 like pushing this hard. And I think we'll probably 00:21:07.539 --> 00:21:11.619 see a lot of this maybe at Google IO with OEMs 00:21:11.619 --> 00:21:13.920 taking this up. And it's, yeah, it's a really 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:16.420 interesting platform. So MediaTek has continued 00:21:16.420 --> 00:21:19.579 to work really closely with Google to enable 00:21:19.579 --> 00:21:22.940 Gemini on both platforms. And yeah, I just think 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:25.319 that there's... A lot going on at MediaTek because 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:27.839 they're also partnered with NVIDIA and they, 00:21:27.900 --> 00:21:30.380 there's a lot interesting stuff going on and 00:21:30.380 --> 00:21:32.740 they also have modems, but this was mostly focused 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:35.720 on applications processors. Not really many 5g 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:38.619 applications for the companion, but I'm interested 00:21:38.619 --> 00:21:41.900 to see if we ever see a 5g Chromebook. Yeah, 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:44.319 it's interesting. So you mentioned support on 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:48.299 that, that, that Chromebook chipset for G suite, 00:21:48.420 --> 00:21:51.130 the basic AI stuff, but They're not positioning 00:21:51.130 --> 00:21:56.869 that solution as an AI PC -like platform. Oh, 00:21:56.869 --> 00:21:59.509 yes, they are. They are? Oh, yes, they are. That's 00:21:59.509 --> 00:22:04.529 Google's answer to the AI PC. Oh, okay. Interesting. 00:22:04.549 --> 00:22:07.549 That's Chromebook Plus. So have you kicked the 00:22:07.549 --> 00:22:09.990 tires on it yet? Can you do an apples -to -apples 00:22:09.990 --> 00:22:13.289 comparison on something from Qualcomm, as an 00:22:13.289 --> 00:22:16.309 example? I haven't yet, but I fully intend on 00:22:16.309 --> 00:22:19.890 doing so. In fact... I just got my hands on the 00:22:19.890 --> 00:22:25.750 Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, which is a 9300 00:22:25.750 --> 00:22:29.029 plus chip. That launched last year. There's not 00:22:29.029 --> 00:22:32.150 that many Dimensity chips in the US, but I have 00:22:32.150 --> 00:22:33.869 a feeling that there will be a lot of Companios 00:22:33.869 --> 00:22:36.349 and they will mostly be in Chromebook. I think 00:22:36.349 --> 00:22:38.069 we're probably a few months away from being able 00:22:38.069 --> 00:22:40.430 to test the Companios. And that would be a really 00:22:40.430 --> 00:22:43.190 interesting comparison, especially against Intel, 00:22:43.329 --> 00:22:48.059 but also Qualcomm and all benchmarks. Yeah. Yeah, 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:50.619 I was going to say, I see a Forbes article, review 00:22:50.619 --> 00:22:53.519 article in your future. Maybe if I have time 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:56.079 to, I'm buried right now. Not to give you another, 00:22:56.299 --> 00:22:59.019 not to give you another. So anyway, oh, and I'll 00:22:59.019 --> 00:23:01.119 just do like a gratuitous plug before we close. 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:04.299 I did spend time with NTT last week at their 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:06.539 upgrade event. I just posted a research note 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:08.720 to the More Insights and Strategy website. So 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:10.119 I would encourage our viewers and listeners, 00:23:10.259 --> 00:23:12.880 if you want to learn more about what I learned 00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:15.480 with NTT, but they're going to surprise you. 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:18.539 I'll just give you a quick headline. Number three 00:23:18.539 --> 00:23:22.000 in the world in data center service delivery. 00:23:22.380 --> 00:23:24.640 I'm blown away. I didn't know that factoid. So 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:28.019 anyway, hit the website, check that out. A lot 00:23:28.019 --> 00:23:30.400 of content out there as well. I was going to 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:32.819 say that MediaTek announcement, actually, I heard 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:34.940 already written up and is published on Forbes. 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:37.420 So you can read that from last week if you want 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:39.960 more details on those announcements. And then 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:43.140 I'll also add that tomorrow, Will and I will 00:23:43.140 --> 00:23:46.119 most likely be busy watching our teams play each 00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:49.059 other. in houston that's right i think it's a 00:23:49.059 --> 00:23:51.039 5 -10 game for me which i think means it's a 00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:54.220 7 -10 for you and neither of us are wearing our 00:23:54.220 --> 00:23:56.640 hats right now but for mostly for me for lighting 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:59.059 purposes but i also don't really wear my hat 00:23:59.059 --> 00:24:02.519 at my desk but yeah it'll be fun to see the slam 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:05.039 diego padres play against the houston astros 00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:08.710 okay astros and padres looking thanks for letting 00:24:08.710 --> 00:24:10.630 me know about that i've been so heads down here 00:24:10.630 --> 00:24:12.769 in the florida keys this week focused on work 00:24:12.769 --> 00:24:15.109 and finishing up a kitchen remodel and i wasn't 00:24:15.109 --> 00:24:17.509 unaware of that but i will be in key west tomorrow 00:24:17.509 --> 00:24:20.970 i'm escaping the traffic here they're going through 00:24:20.970 --> 00:24:23.910 a water main replacement and the area that i 00:24:23.910 --> 00:24:27.069 live in tavernier is the last and it's brutal 00:24:27.069 --> 00:24:29.210 the traffic's normally brutal down here during 00:24:29.210 --> 00:24:31.230 peak season but it's even more so i've been like 00:24:31.710 --> 00:24:34.369 huddled in my condo here and been staying very 00:24:34.369 --> 00:24:36.710 productive. But hey, buddy, I'm glad we could 00:24:36.710 --> 00:24:38.849 get this podcast recorded this week. Why don't 00:24:38.849 --> 00:24:41.690 you take us home? Absolutely. We hope our viewers 00:24:41.690 --> 00:24:43.430 and listeners found this week's topics interesting. 00:24:43.710 --> 00:24:45.690 If anyone out there would like to provide insights 00:24:45.690 --> 00:24:47.930 on a specific PUBG topic for a future podcast, 00:24:48.230 --> 00:24:50.789 please reach out to us on social media. Will 00:24:50.789 --> 00:24:53.690 is at WillTownTech and I'm at OnShellSog. We 00:24:53.690 --> 00:24:56.349 hope you guys have a great rest of your week 00:24:56.349 --> 00:25:00.069 and maybe even weekend. And don't forget to rate 00:25:00.069 --> 00:25:00.529 and subscribe.