Chinese vendor Huawei claimed the company has built over half of the 140 commercial 5G networks deployed in 59 countries so far, Ryan Ding, president of Huawei’s Carrier Business Group, said at a pre-briefing for MWC Shanghai 2021.
“5G developed faster than we had expected. More than 140 commercial 5G networks have been deployed in 59 countries. In China, more than 68% of smartphones shipped in 2020 were 5G phones. More than 200 5G modules and industrial devices are now available, supporting 5G application in a broad range of industries,” the executive said.
“2020 has been a difficult year. During this time, Huawei worked closely with our customers,” Ding said. “In 2020, Huawei supported the stable operations of over 300 networks across more than 170 countries and helped operators provide online services and minimize the impact of the pandemic on their business. Working with Huawei, operators attracted 22 million new wireless home broadband users worldwide. Thanks to this, people can easily access telemedicine services and work from home,” he added.
The executive also highlighted that 5G technology is becoming part of core production processes in industries. Looking ahead, Ding is bullish about the outlook for industrial applications this year, noting adoption of 5G had made “production safer, more intelligent and more efficient” in domestic coal mining, steel making and manufacturing sectors.
Ding also noted that 5G applications have been deployed in more than 20 industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, education and logistics. ”5G is no longer for early adopters, it is improving our daily lives. 2021 will be the first year with large-scale 5G industry applications,” he said. “Huawei will have exhibitions and in-depth discussions on these topics with industry stakeholders online and offline at the upcoming MWC Shanghai. We will keep innovating to help our customers build the best 5G networks and achieve greater business success.”
During the briefing Ritchie Peng, president of Huawei’s 5G Product Line, said 5G users globally reached 200 million, while 800,000 5G sites have been rolled out worldwide.
Huawei’s founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei recently said that the firm believes that it will be extremely unlikely that the new U.S. administration would lift the current restrictions imposed by former President Donald Trump.
“I think it’s very unlikely that the U.S. will remove us from the Entity List. I won’t say it’s impossible, but it’s extremely unlikely. We basically aren’t considering it a possibility,” Ren said, adding that Huawei remains committed to producing good products and solutions.
In May 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei to its Entity List, a decision that effectively banned the company from buying parts and components from U.S. companies without U.S. government approval.
Under the order, Huawei needs a U.S. government license to buy components from U.S. suppliers.
