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Intel’s November 2017 announcement paired two different parts of its modem roadmap: the XMM 8000 family, which Intel described as its first commercial 5G New Radio multi-mode modems, and the XMM 7660, an LTE Advanced Pro modem with a stated peak downlink capability of up to 1.6 Gbps. The XMM 7660 was an LTE product, not the announced 5G modem.
What Intel announced in November 2017
Intel said the XMM 8000 series would support both sub-6 GHz and millimeter-wave spectrum, with the family intended for devices such as PCs, phones, fixed wireless customer-premises equipment and vehicles. Intel characterized it as its first family of commercial 5G NR multi-mode modems. Intel’s November 16, 2017 announcement describes the roadmap and the company’s expectations at that time.
XMM 8060: the announced 5G modem
Intel identified the XMM 8060 as its first commercial 5G modem. The company said it would support 5G NR in standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) modes, as well as legacy 2G, 3G—including CDMA—and 4G connectivity. Intel expected commercial devices using the XMM 8060 in mid-2019. That date was a forecast made in 2017; the announcement alone does not establish whether the forecast was fulfilled.
XMM 7660: the LTE counterpart
The XMM 7660 was announced alongside the 5G roadmap as an LTE modem. Intel described it as Category 19, with downlink speeds up to 1.6 Gbps, advanced MIMO, carrier aggregation and broad band support. Intel expected commercial devices containing it in 2019, another 2017 forecast rather than a verified shipping outcome.
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XMM 7660 specifications
Intel’s XMM 7660 product brief calls it a sixth-generation LTE modem and an LTE Advanced Pro product. The listed figures are Intel specifications, not results from independent testing.
| Capability | Intel’s published description |
|---|---|
| Modem generation and process | Sixth-generation LTE modem; 14 nm design |
| Standards | 3GPP Release 14 |
| Peak downlink | Up to 1.6 Gbps, LTE Category 19 |
| Peak uplink | Up to 150 Mbps |
| Carrier aggregation | Up to seven downlink carrier-aggregation bands; up to five non-contiguous bands within a 140 MHz downlink |
| Band support | More than 45 bands in a single SKU |
| Other listed features | LTE/LTE dual-SIM dual-standby; Licensed Assisted Access (LAA); Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) |
| Satellite navigation | GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou |
The 1.6 Gbps downlink figure appears in Intel’s 2017 announcement and product brief. The product brief also gives the 150 Mbps uplink, carrier-aggregation and band-support figures; its publication date is not shown in the retrieved document metadata. These are stated capabilities, not a promise that a device will reach those rates in ordinary use. Actual performance depends on the network and device implementation, and the cited Intel materials do not provide independent comparative test results.
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How the announced modems differ
| XMM 8000 family / XMM 8060 | XMM 7660 | |
|---|---|---|
| Radio generation | Announced as a 5G NR multi-mode family; XMM 8060 was identified as its first commercial 5G modem | LTE Advanced Pro, Category 19 |
| Network modes described | XMM 8060: 5G NR SA and NSA, plus 2G, 3G (including CDMA) and 4G | LTE features; the product brief lists LTE/LTE dual-SIM dual-standby |
| Spectrum or band detail | Family described as supporting sub-6 GHz and millimeter-wave spectrum | More than 45 bands in one SKU; up to seven downlink carrier-aggregation bands |
| Published peak speed | Not stated in the cited November 2017 announcement | Up to 1.6 Gbps downlink and 150 Mbps uplink, per Intel’s product brief |
| Device timing announced in 2017 | Intel expected XMM 8060 devices in mid-2019 | Intel expected commercial devices in 2019 |
This is a comparison of Intel’s descriptions, not a direct speed test. The two products use different radio generations, and Intel’s cited materials do not provide comparable independent measurements.
What the roadmap figures do—and do not—show
The announcement records Intel’s product plans and shipping expectations as stated on November 16, 2017. It does not by itself confirm that a modem reached commercial devices on schedule, nor does it establish real-world throughput. For the XMM 7660, the product brief is useful for understanding the feature set Intel specified—especially carrier aggregation, band support and navigation compatibility—but those specifications should not be treated as independently measured performance.
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Intel later issued a separate announcement about the XMM 8160 5G multimode modem in November 2018: Intel’s XMM 8160 timing announcement. That is a later roadmap update; it does not change what the 2017 release said about the XMM 8060 and XMM 7660.
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