Samsung banks on EU 5G orders to grow network equipment business

Samsung Electronics is banking on Europe to maintain growth momentum in its network equipment business, a senior executive said on Tuesday.

The South Korean company is focused on accelerating its 5G rollout especially now that industry leader Huawei Technologies of China is focused on its domestic market.

According to Reuters, it currently ranks first in memory chips and smartphones but in 5G network equipment it ranks fifth behind Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia and ZTE, with a 10-15% market share in the first quarter of 2021, according to market research firm Dell'Oro Group.

Samsung is currently conducting 5G trials with European telecom companies including Deutsche Telekom in the Czech Republic, Play Communications in Poland and another major European firm.

Besides Europe, Samsung is also looking to expand in markets such as India, Australia and Southeast Asia.

Samsung also said that since 5G network rollouts began in 2019 in various countries, it has seen the number of new clients for its 5G equipment and systems rise by 35% a year on average.

Samsung's goal is to become top-three in the network equipment business.