This map shows countries working with Huawei 5G in red and pink. Huawei is doing very well in 5G, although it’s not as dominant as the colors here suggest.
Ericsson is actually close to Huawei in 5G revenue, aided by the ban in the US and Australia. Years ago, Huawei was the price leader in order to break in to the European market. That’s no longer true, despite all the reporters that continue to make that claim. Ericsson made a corporate decision to match and occasionally beat Huawei’s prices.
Ren made a remarkable comment that Huawei would be hurt if it forced Nokia and Ericsson out of the market. Both are struggling financially. Ren made the point that competition spurs Huawei to do better. I’m sure he’s also aware of the political implications of knocking out Europe’s champions.
Huawei’s possible advantage in 5G technology is also overrated. A Columbia University Dean worried it is 3-4 years ahead. A news story I just read said two years ahead.
Huawei’s $17 billion research budget has produced remarkable results. It is certainly ahead in some areas.
But Ericsson, Samsung, and ZTE also have extraordinary engineers. In networks that use Huawei and a second vendor, the second vendor usually does fine.
There is no big gap in 2019, although Huawei’s huge research spending could pull them ahead.