Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia to provide 77% of all 5G base stations in 2020

The world’s big three mobile network equipment vendors are set to continue to dominate the 5G base station market in 2020, claiming a combined 77 per cent share of the market.

Despite a torrid year which has seen the Chinese vendor lose ground in Western Europe, Huawei will still finish the year as the world’s most prolific supplier of 5G base stations, with a 28.5 per cent share. Ericsson will supply 26.5 per cent and Nokia 22 per cent of the total units sold, according to new research published by TrendForce. (Read Competition in Mobile Base Station Market to Intensify in Trends section)

The research suggests that despite its losses in Western Europe, demand for Huawei base station will be buoyed by a surge in domestic demand in 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, with network coverage in prefecture-level cities in China. In addition, emerging infrastructures such as 5G networks and all-optical networks will generate commercial opportunities for Huawei. According to the GSM Association’s forecasts, by 2025, more than a quarter of cellular devices in China will operate on 5G networks, occupying one-third of all global 5G connections,” the TrendForce report read.

With the UK government now effectively banning its telcos from working with Huawei on 5G after 2027, an opportunity could emerge for Korean and Japanese vendors to fill the void. This year, Korean based vendor, Samsung, increased its market share of 5G base stations from 6.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent.

“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 US,” the report continued.

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