Intel Corp. has joined forces with fellow semiconductor maker MediaTek Inc. to build 5G modem chips aimed at enabling ultrafast internet connections on tomorrow’s personal computers.

Announced today, the partnership will initially focus on laptops. Intel will define the “solution specification” for the planned 5G modems while Taiwan-based MediaTek is set to handle product development and manufacturing. On the go-to-market side, Intel will work with computer makers to make their devices compatible with the chips, among other things by developing operating system drivers.

The term 5G describes a set of technologies that provide 10 to 100 times faster connectivity than current carrier infrastructure. This extra transport capacity will enable application developers to offload more work from users’ PCs to the cloud over the network, which will enable new kinds of services. 

The partnership with MediaTek fills a key gap in Intel’s PC strategy. After selling its modem business to Apple Inc. in a $1 billion deal this year, the company was left with no 5G chips of its own with which to meet the needs of future computers. Taiwan-based MediaTek is a major supplier of modem chips with close to $8 billion in revenue as of 2018 that can not only bring a lot of engineering resources to bear for the collaboration with Intel, but also has the world’s first integrated 5G chipset.

The Taiwanese firm has much to gain the partnership as well. Intel, leveraging its position as the dominant supplier of PC processors, could help get MediaTek’s silicon in more devices across than the company reaches today.

The first 5G chips developed through the collaboration are expected to ship with laptops from Dell Technologies Inc. and HP Inc. in early 2021. The two hardware makers are also participants in Intel’s recently launched Project Athena. It’s an initiative that aims to encourage the development of brighter, more power-efficient laptops that can last at least an average workday on a single charge. 

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