The South Korean multinational entity Samsung Electronics is eyeing at Europe to retain growth pace in the network equipment business. Even though Samsung Electronics tops the chart in memory chips and smartphones, it stands behind Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia and ZTE in the 5G network equipment list. As per market research firm Dell’Oro Group, Samsung Electronics had nearly 10-15 per cent market share in the first quarter of 2021. Since Samsung landed Rs 48,000 crore deal with the US telecom entity Verizon and another deal with Japan’s NTT Docomo, the impressions have totally changed for the entity.
Samsung is Conducting 5G Trials With European Telecom Companies
Since the 5G rollout is extending worldwide and telecom gear makers are focusing on their domestic market, Samsung is taking extra steps and expanding its range of 5G trials. Currently, Samsung is conducting 5G trials with European telecom companies such as Deutsche Telekom, Play Communications and other major European vendors. However, Samsung is planning to take the leap and looking to expand in markets such as India, Australia and Southeast Asia. The South Korean giant has revealed that since the 5G networks rolled out in 2019, it has seen multiple new clients for its 5G equipment and systems rise by nearly 35 per cent a year on average. Samsung’s network equipment is currently a baby, which generated a revenue of SKW nearly Rs 15,47,400 crores for 2020.
US Excluding Huawei From 5G Rolllouts is Creating Ample Opportunities
Huawei and other Chinese telecom gear vendors have faced backlash for various privacy reasons. Since the US has excluded Huawei from 5G rollouts, it has provided multiple opportunities to competitors to expand its market share. Samsung is capitalising on its virtualised RAN technology that allows telecom companies to freely use off-the-shelf network equipment in various combinations to connect users to networks. Verizon has already adopted the technology for 5G RAN, whereas, in South Korea, the 5G core networks of operators are totally virtualised. The goal of Samsung at the moment is to make it in the top-three spot in the network equipment business. However, the period to achieve the goal is still in the darkness.
