Huawei is also now the world's largest supplier of smartphones, surpassing Samsung Electronics Co. Qualcomm also announced a super-fast charging platform this week for Android devices that is supposed to charge a battery to 50% full in 5 minutes, and 100% full in 15 minutes. Xilinx wants to help drive open, interoperable, and adaptable Radio Access Network (RAN) 5G technologies. The company this week joined the Open RAN Policy Coalition, an organization that advocates for open and interoperable solutions in RAN. Xilinx is already a member of O-RAN alliance and is a contributor to the 3GPP specifications for 5G mobile networks. Xilinx offers silicon that supports multiple standards, bands, carriers and sub-networks for Open RAN, the company said in its press release.

The global technology sector is on the brink of an explosion of data, according to top executives at Intel, who say the growth of cloud computing will be accelerated by new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, virtual reality, drones, robots and autonomous vehicles. "This explosion of data will usher in an era of profound transformation," said Murthy Renduchintala, President of Intel's IoT and Client Businesses. "It will create a need for new infrastructure and drive demand for a new interconnectedness of everything." At the heart of this revolution is the data center. At its Analyst Day Thursday, Intel outlined a "Data Center First" strategy that looks beyond the CPU to a product portfolio that spans the data center, including memory, networking and emerging technologies like the IoT and AI.

Intel surprised many observers when the company hired outsider Venkata Renduchintala to lead the company's PC, Internet of Things, and Systems Architecture groups. With more than a year under his belt, he's spearheading a cultural change inside the company, getting employees to think beyond PCs and talk about technologies like 5G and IoT. There's been a lot of chatter about changes in the company's chip development strategy, with the recent announcement of the 8th Generation Core processors, an unprecedented fourth chip architecture on the 14-nanometer process. The chip industry veteran sat down with the IDG News Service at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to talk about what spurred the move and also his thoughts on 5G. Renduchintala: I'm noticing there are a hell of a lot more people interested in 5G.

In the previous part of the series, we learned about how 5G (fifth-generation) technology will transform network infrastructure and broaden the definition of wireless technology. Intel (INTC) is transforming its product portfolio accordingly. Data will have to be distributed through the fabric of the network to minimize the latency occurring due to the transmission of huge sums of it by IoT (Internet of Things) devices. As networks will be dealing with 5G and IoT devices, they need to be upgradable and extensible. The president of Intel's Client and IoT Businesses and Systems Architecture Group, Murthy Renduchintala, explained how the network can be made upgradable.

Intel has many disparate business units doing their own thing. The challenging task of tethering them is a top priority for Intel's second-in-command, Venkata Renduchintala. Renduchintala, known as Murthy, was appointed last November to run Intel's PC, client, and internet of things businesses. He's made his presence felt: Within six months of his appointment, Intel cut struggling products like mobile embedded CPUs and sharpened its focus on growth areas of IoT, servers, and connectivity. One common thread in all the areas of growth is connectivity, with modems and wireless products now as important to Intel as its CPUs.

Intel has many disparate business units doing their own thing. The challenging task of tethering them is a top priority for Intel's second-in-command, Venkata Renduchintala. Renduchintala, known as Murthy, was appointed last November to run Intel's PC, client, and internet of things businesses. He's made his presence felt: Within six months of his appointment, Intel cut struggling products like mobile CPUs and sharpened its focus on growth areas of IoT, servers, and connectivity. One common thread in all the areas of growth is connectivity, with modems and wireless products now as important to Intel as its CPUs.