Analysis by Péter Goreczky
In terms of the number of 5G subscriptions, Northeast Asia, including China, is currently ahead of the rest of the world. The global 5G infrastructure market is expected to continue to grow rapidly over the next five years, but the elite club of global companies capable of building it is not expected to expand in the short term. Despite restrictions on Huawei’s participation in some tenders and possible Chinese retaliation against European companies, neither the Chinese company nor Ericsson is expected to be sidelined from the global market for 5G network infrastructure devices. The new networks are likely to be future drivers of economic growth, and the ‘5G competition’ of countries aims to create the necessary technological foundations. Western sanctions against Chinese technology companies will not hold back the construction of 5G and, through it, the future development of the Chinese economy. In addition to establishing a network, countries need companies that really transform their activities by building on new technologies. In the absence of these, 5G rollout can easily remain an unfulfilled promise for economic growth.