5G Base Station Market
Big 3 take 85% of 5G base station market
Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia captured more than 85% market share in the mobile base station industry in 2019, says TrendForce.
This year, with Huawei unable to procure key components from U.S.-based RF-front end manufacturers, the company is expected to focus its base station construction this year primarily in domestic China.
By the end of 1H20, the three major Chinese mobile network operators, including China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, had built more than 250,000 5G base stations in China. This number is projected to reach 600,000 by the end of this year.
According to the GSMA, by 2025 more than a quarter of cellular devices in China will operate on 5G networks, occupying one-third of all global 5G connections.
On the other hand, thanks to successful 5G commercialization efforts in Korea, Samsung has seen a surge in its base station equipment. The company has provided base stations for the three major mobile network operators in Korea, including SKT, KT, and LG Uplus, in addition to collaborating with U.S. operators, such as AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon.
As well, since the British government is now targeting Japan-based NEC and Fujitsu as replacement suppliers of 5G equipment, and European and American governments alike have implemented sanctions against Huawei, Japanese equipment suppliers now have the perfect opportunity to raise their market shares in Europe and the U.S.
