Samsung isn't a major player in the telecom equipment market right now. Its market share is only 3 percent compared to Huawei's 28 percent and Nokia's 23 percent. Ericsson sits in between the two with 27 percent.
Samsung has been focusing on the next-generation telecommunications technology for the past few years to establish its footprint going forward. Its work on 5G speaks for itself. Samsung says that it's aiming to achieve a 20 percent market share in the 5G equipment market by 2022.
Samsung is all in on 5G
The company is in a good position to achieve its aim. It has demonstrated its 5G equipment multiple times. Samsung has also teamed up with carriers in key markets to run tests on commercial 5G networks.
It's particularly focused on South Korea and the United States. Carriers in both countries are due to switch on their commercial 5G networks by next year. Samsung has partnerships for 5G with key players in both countries. Samsung's network business president Kim Young-ki has said that the company will account for 20 percent of the 5G equipment market by 2022.
Samsung has orders for 5G equipment in the bag already and is working to win more. Major U.S. carriers like Verizon and AT&T will be sourcing 5G equipment from Samsung for their commercial networks. This would provide the company with a good launchpad to expand its client base further when the 5G wave reaches other markets, particularly emerging markets.
The company's mobile division will also be putting handsets on the market capable of supporting these 5G networks. The Galaxy S10 will likely be its first 5G compatible device. It's expected to arrive early next year.
