SEOUL – As the United States and its allies block Chinese national champion Huawei from their 5G rollouts, South Korean rival Samsung Electronics’ is poised to fill the technological gap.
5G telecommunication technology promises to open vast new fields and businesses in what some predict will usher in a new industrial revolution, enabling autonomous driving, internet-of-things for industrial applications and ultra-fast uploads for digital media.
While some analysts see an emerging Samsung versus Huawei battle for 5G supremacy, industry experts say the South Korean tech giant will have difficulty catching up with Huawei in the short-term.
That, they say, owes to the nature of the mobile telecommunication equipment market and because Samsung’s core competencies are in memory chips and smartphones, not base stations and related 5G gear.
Still, if Washington’s unprecedented assault on Huawei persists beyond the US’ upcoming presidential election, Samsung’s 5G outlook will look rosier in the long term.