MediaTek has lost some of its momentum in smartphone modem and system-on-chip products in recent times, and has been focusing its growth efforts on sectors, such as wearables, where Qualcomm is less of an imposing incumbent. However, the Taiwanese company says it will ship its 5G modem next year, ahead of schedule – and less than a year behind Qualcomm’s and Intel’s commercial offerings. Nokia, NTT Docomo, China Mobile and Huawei have all worked with MediaTek on the technical specifications for its modem, no doubt keen to encourage an alternative supplier to take an earlier position in 5G, compared to 4G, which was completely dominated by Qualcomm for at least the first 2-3 years. The San Diego vendor has still…