Struggling Huawei loses ground in global telecoms equipment market, but remains sector’s top vendor on back of China demand
- Nokia and Ericsson led telecoms equipment sales outside China in 2021, as Huawei struggled with US sanctions and barred from other major 5G markets
- Global telecoms equipment sales last year reached nearly US$100 billion, up 7 per cent from 2020
The Chinese firm was followed by Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson, each of which had around 16 per cent revenue market share in the same period.
“Huawei continued to lead the global market, underscoring its grip on the Chinese market, depth of its telecoms portfolio and resiliency with existing footprints,” said analyst Stefan Pongratz, who is responsible for mobile radio access network (RAN) market and telecoms capital expenditure research programmes at Dell’Oro.
Dell’Oro analyst Pongratz, however, indicated that ongoing efforts by the US government to curb the deployment of Huawei’s telecoms network equipment outside China has had a negative impact on the company.
Last year, Ericsson and Nokia each had a 20 per cent revenue share of the telecoms equipment market outside China, according to the Dell’Oro report. By comparison, Huawei accounted for an 18 per cent share.
Global telecoms equipment sales last year reached nearly US$100 billion, up 7 per cent from 2020, the report said. China accounted for about a quarter of the total market.
Huawei to cut dividend payments to employees after expected revenue slump
The findings by Dell’Oro reflect Huawei’s continued struggle to stay afloat and remain relevant in the global market in the face of US trade sanctions and Washington’s pressure on its economic allies to bar use of the Chinese firm’s 5G equipment because of security concerns. The company has repeatedly denied US accusations of security issues.
The company said that last year it saw solid growth in its enterprise business and stability at its carrier business. Its portfolio of telecoms equipment includes broadband access, microwave and optical transport systems, as well as mobile core network and RAN.