Ericsson wins 95 5G contracts, surpassing Huawei to become the first

Ericsson, a Swedish fifth-generation mobile communications (5G) base station equipment manufacturer, announced on its official website that it has won 95 commercial 5G contracts at this stage, surpassing Huawei to become the supplier with the largest number of 5G commercial contracts in the world.

Huawei's 5G equipment has been boycotted by many countries, and suppliers such as Ericsson and Nokia have taken advantage of the situation to grab business opportunities. At the end of 2019, Ericsson announced that it had won 79 5G commercial contracts. The latest 5G commercial contracts announced by Ericsson on its official website recently have increased to 95, higher than Huawei's 91. Nokia ranks third with 70.

Ericsson said it currently has agreements with telecom operators, 55 of which have been publicly announced, including 43 with 5G networks in operation.

In addition to Ericsson and Nokia, Samsung's 5G equipment orders are also increasing. Samsung Electronics has won four 5G contracts in the past seven months, including contracts with Canadian telecom operators Videotron and TELUS, US telecom operator US Cellular, and New Zealand telecom operator Spark. Analysts predict that the third quarter of this year will be critical, and Samsung's global market share is expected to increase further.

Ericsson surpassed Huawei, mainly reflecting the reshuffle effect caused by the US ban on Huawei in the context of the Sino-US trade war. Taiwanese electronics manufacturers have a close relationship with Huawei, including Foxconn, Win Semiconductors, and Uni-Asia; Ericsson's supply chain is mainly composed of Quanta Computer and Astronautics. The trade war has caused the movement of 5G base station contracts, and also affected the shift of supply chain orders between Huawei and Ericsson.

Industry insiders pointed out that Huawei invested in 5G technology development many years ago and is the first company to have the most 5G patents. However, the United States has not stopped its efforts to suppress Huawei recently, and has continued to win over allies such as the United Kingdom to prohibit mainland China from participating in the construction of the UK's 5G infrastructure. British Prime Minister Johnson has asked officials to formulate a plan to prohibit Chinese companies from participating in the construction of the UK's 5G infrastructure by 2023.

The United States even joined forces with Germany, France, Japan, South Korea and other countries to form the "D10 Alliance" to reduce its dependence on mainland China for communication equipment and strategic materials, which has impacted Huawei's overseas orders.

In addition, due to the Sino-Indian conflict, it is reported that the Indian government will discuss whether to allow Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE to participate in India's 5G construction, which is not conducive to Huawei's winning contracts. As for the three major Taiwanese telecom companies that have entered 5G, none of them have adopted Huawei equipment. Far EasTone Taiwan uses all Ericsson products, Chunghwa Telecom uses both Nokia and Ericsson, and Taiwan Telecom mainly cooperates with Nokia.

The Federal Communications Commission will auction the 3.5GHz 5G spectrum on July 23, and major U.S. mobile operators Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are all interested in bidding. Industry analysts pointed out that Samsung is expected to obtain new contracts in the United States and increase its market share.