Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc (ASE, a member of ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. TAIEX: 3711, NYSE: ASX), participated in a project kick-off event on August 23rd to unveil plans for a 5G mmWave NR-DC SA (New Radio-Dual Connectivity Standalone) smart factory supported by the Industrial Development Bureau and Qualcomm Technologies Inc., and developed through a strategic multi-organizational collaboration that comprises the Institute for Information Technology, Asia Pacific Telecom, DEVCORE Security Consulting and the National Cheng Kung University’s Intelligent Manufacturing Research Center.

With the increasing complexity of global competition characterized by the rapid shifts in market supply and demand, as well as human resource constraints, companies continue to face unprecedented challenges in upgrading and transforming their business operations. To counter the talent crunch and adapt to diverse customer requirements, ASE is accelerating its adoption of smart manufacturing technologies including automation, and the integration of OT (operational technology) security to increase the efficiency of its equipment and productivity. In line with the company’s vision of building advanced and robust smart factories, ASE has partnered with leading industry players, and key government, academic and research institutions in converging AI applications with 5G technologies.

Overview of the 5G Collaboration

The collaboration will focus on enabling the digital transformation of factory processes that are highly secured and highly reliable through facilitating 5G wireless infrastructure integration, smart heterogeneous equipment integration and OT security system integration. Areas covered include developments in:

• AI-enabled detection of abnormalities from the SOP (standard operating process) that will improve the ability of operators and maintenance personnel to ensure consistent yield quality and a safe operating environment
• enhancing productivity and yield improvement through the data analysis of both current and newly purchased equipment in operation, and optimizing model parameters
• intelligent material handling solutions that enables real-time inventory forecasting to delivery that result in overall reduction of production cycle time
• generating high-resolution AOI images in real-time with the help of high bandwidth mobile streaming, to improve the accuracy and efficiency of quality inspection
• the deployment of 5G mmWave NR-DC SA technology that offers network stability and speed to improve connectivity and in case of a machine re-layout, the reduction of set up time will also improve the overall equipment efficiency (OEE)
• OT security technology to ensure the reliability, security and functionality of machines and tasks in a digitized manufacturing environment

Snapdragon® X65 5G Modem-RF System and New Radio Dual Connectivity for Standalone 5G

The smart factory will utilize the Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System and 5G NR-DC software with uplink four-component carrier aggregation (UL 4CC CA), in which four contiguous carriers of 100MHz are combined together with 2.6GHz (mid-band) and 28GHz (high-band), to achieve an uplink speed of 600Mbps. The low latency and higher data speeds are critical to semiconductor manufacturing environments for advanced processes and will in turn accelerate the application and development of smart manufacturing.

Uniting with the Best in Class to Chart the Course of the Next Generation 5G Smart Factory

Asia Pacific Telecom’s vast experience in enterprise wireless networks will be instrumental in deploying next-generation 5G network architecture within a manufacturing environment. Today marks an important milestone, as leading players in the industry, government, academia and research sectors joined forces to drive the developments of smart factory technologies. Such engagement will contribute to greater innovation in digital transformation and intelligent automation, and strengthen the global competitiveness of the semiconductor industry.

‘The success of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry and its importance in the global supply chain are the results of many factors, of which strategic initiatives led by the Economic Ministry have laid a strong foundation for the industry to grow and prosper. At ASE, partnerships are key to advancing our competitiveness and seizing new opportunities across diverse disciplines, generations and global borders. To that end, we are collaborating with the best-in-class from the government, industry, academia and research institutions to craft a 5G smart manufacturing blueprint that optimizes technologies in 5G mmWave NR-DC SA, and establishes an open platform with integrated software/hardware and smart systems. We hope to lead by example and inspire more industry players to contribute to building a resilient global smart manufacturing and equipment cluster, and boost the development of semiconductor talent.’

- Tien Wu, CEO, ASE Inc

‘As a global leader in 5G technology, we believe that the next step in the 5G evolution is to move towards standalone mode and allow for industry growth in areas such as Industrial IoT and cloud services. This announcement again illustrates the importance of Taiwan’s comprehensive ICT supply chain and its technological advantages, so as how Qualcomm Technologies has always attached great value to Taiwan’s industry and ecosystem. We are excited to take part in driving the much needed development of technologies in a transforming industry. We will continue to support Taiwan’s development of mmWave technology and work together to strengthen Taiwan’s 5G ecosystem.’
- ST Liew, Vice President, QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. and President, Qualcomm Taiwan, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

‘Asia Pacific Telecom is committed to technological innovation and the development of the 5G industry. Our strengths in integrating 5G enterprise private networks and vertical applications have led to the completion of Taiwan's first 5G NR-DC SA network with Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies. The network architecture in the mid-to-high frequency band offers excellent data speeds with extremely low latency, creating a more flexible, intelligent, secure and reliable environment to build a 5G mmWave NR-DC SA smart factory. We are proud to establish the next milestone in the application of 5G enterprise networks and participate in accelerating Taiwan’s industry upgrade.’
- Peng Chen, Chairman and General Manager, Asia Pacific Telecom

Besides Qualcomm Technologies, the Institute for Information Technology, Asia Pacific Telecom, DEVCORE Security Consulting and the National Cheng Kung University’s Intelligent Manufacturing Research Center, other members of the collaborative team include Askey, Ericsson and FHNet.

About ASE

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc (a member of ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. TAIEX: 3711, NYSE: ASX) is the leading global provider of semiconductor manufacturing services in assembly and test. Alongside a broad portfolio of established assembly and test technologies, ASE is also delivering innovative advanced packaging and system-in-package solutions to meet growth momentum across a broad range of end markets, including 5G, Automotive, High Performance Computing and more. To learn about our advances in SiP, Fanout, MEMS & Sensor, Flip Chip, and, 2.5D, 3D & TSV technologies, all ultimately geared towards applications to improve lifestyle and efficiency, please visit: www.aseglobal.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn @aseglobal.

About Asia Pacific Telecom

A leader in the provision of wireless telecom needs in Taiwan, Asia-Pacific Telecom Co., Ltd. was founded in 2000 as a subsidiary of Asia-Pacific Telecom Group, formerly Eastern Broadband Communications Co., Ltd. From 2007 through 2011, the parent company carried out internal mergers to match the firm’s corporate strategy. What resulted--Broadband Fixed Lines, Broadband Wireless, and Broadband Internet—enabled to the firm to move ahead in line with three core values—integration, innovation, and speed—toward greater operational efficiency and competitiveness. The company was officially renamed Asia Pacific Telecom Co., Ltd. (APT) in 2007 and had its IPO in 2013. In July 2014, Hon Hai Technology Group’s Ambit Microsystems acquired a stake in Asia-Pacific (Ambit was fully absorbed into APT on December 31, 2015). In late 2014, APT launched 4G brand “Gt Smart Life”. Asia Pacific Telecom officially launches the 5G service in 2020 and provides premium services by using its ICT experiences and import Hon Hai Technology Group's manufacturing, platform, and terminal equipment resources to provide comprehensive telecommunications, ICT, IoT solutions and digital application services. For information, visit https://www.aptg.com.tw/my/