Huawei and ZTE Boost their Infrastructure Market Share

Huawei and ZTE Boost their Infrastructure Market Share
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Huawei and ZTE increased their shares of the global telecoms infrastructure market in 2020, according to Dell’Oro Group. The good news for Chinese companies arrive despite US trade restrictions, driven in part by China’s accelerated 5G deployment.

The research company placed Huawei’s share at 31 percent, up 3 percentage points year-on-year, with ZTE up from 9 percent in 2019 to 10 percent. This compared with Ericsson’s 1 percentage point gain to 15 percent and Nokia’s 15 percent (down from 16 percent). Samsung’s share fell to 2 percent from 3 percent.

Looking at the RAN market excluding China, Dell’Oro’s data showed Huawei’s share fell from 22 percent to 20 percent, Ericsson’s rose by 2 percentage points to around 35 percent, and Nokia held about a 25 percent share (up 1 percentage point). Global telecoms equipment revenue increased 7 percent in 2020, growing at the fastest pace since 2011, Dell’Oro Group stated. It forecast growth of 3 to 5 percent in 2021.

US sanctions had a strong inmpact on Huawei’s smartphone business. Gartner figures showed their sales declined 41.1 percent year-on-year in the final quarter of 2020. But its network equipment business has been mostly spared and actually increased in many regions due strong demand associated with COVID-19. Last month, founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei told staff profit and revenue rose in 2020 despite new challenges, with transactions, deliveries and supplies uninterrupted.