Huawei ranks first in the global communication equipment market in 2023 with a 31.3% share

On March 28th, according to the South Korean newspaper “Chosun Ilbo”, despite facing pressure to withdraw from the European market, Huawei in China still maintained its position as the top player in the global communication equipment market last year. Samsung Electronics in South Korea is clearly in a decline in competition, with its market share dropping to fifth in the world last year. According to statistics released by market research company Omdia on March 28th, Huawei ranked first in the global communication equipment market (small and large base stations, etc.) with a 31.3% share last year. Ericsson from Sweden ranks second with a market share of 24.3%, while Nokia from Finland and ZTE from China rank third and fourth with market shares of 19.5% and 13.9%, respectively. The above four companies have a global market share of nearly 90%, while Samsung Electronics ranked fifth in the global communication equipment market last year with a 6.1% share, a decrease of 1.6% compared to last year, making it the largest market share decline among the top five global communication equipment companies. According to reports, after the United States imposed sanctions on Huawei in 2019, European countries also joined the ranks of removing Huawei’s telecommunications equipment. But the reality is that this has not had any significant impact on Huawei’s global market share. Last year, the UK formulated a plan to completely replace Huawei equipment and services from its 5G communication network, while the German Ministry of the Interior suggested that telecommunications companies restrict the use of equipment manufactured by Huawei and ZTE. At present, although some EU member states have prepared legislation to exclude companies such as Huawei and ZTE from their domestic communication networks, only 10 out of the 27 EU countries comply with the sanctions. And the work of removing Huawei devices in these countries is also progressing slowly. Many people are concerned that the removal of Huawei and other devices in Europe will result in lower levels of 5G construction. In January of this year, senior officials from the European Commission expressed concern that if the 5G penetration rate is low, the AI (artificial intelligence) industry will be strongly negatively affected, which will hinder the economic development of the European Union. On the other hand, although South Korea’s Samsung Electronics is accelerating its entry into overseas communication equipment markets, including Europe, it cannot exert too much influence. Analysis shows that Nokia is one step ahead in competing for vacancies in the European market. European telecommunications companies prefer Nokia and Ericsson devices, while Southeast Asian and South American countries prefer Chinese devices. Samsung Electronics lags behind Nokia and Ericsson in the Western market in communication equipment, and Huawei and ZTE in China and emerging markets. Director Song Yonggen of the Future Strategy Research Office of the ICT Strategy Research Institute at the Korea Institute of Electronic Communications stated, “In Europe, countries with less influence from the United States are still using Huawei devices. Even though restrictions on Huawei are prevalent in Europe, communication suppliers have no reason not to use high-quality and low-priced Huawei devices.”. Song Yonggen said that Samsung Electronics’ position in the global communication equipment market is optional, so it is better to focus on the domestic market in South Korea, otherwise its market share may further shrink. However, the demand for 5G communication equipment in South Korea is also in a sluggish state.