Ericsson beats Nokia to win 5G radio deal from China Telecom and China Unicom

Ericsson has clinched 3 percent share in a joint 5G radio contract from China Telecom and China Unicom, Reuters reported.
Verizon 5G network by EricssonNokia, which was expected to take away Ericsson’s market share in China, did not receive any share, according to a tender document published by the Chinese company. The tender document doesn’t disclose the percentage wins.

Huawei and ZTE were expected to have cornered a major share of the contracts, followed by state-owned Datang Telecom.

Ericsson, which warned that it would lose market share in China due to the ban of Chinese equipment suppliers in Sweden, saw its share in China Mobile drop to 2 percent from 11 percent last year, while Nokia got 4 percent of the contracts announced in July.

Nokia, which is back on the growth path after fixing its earlier product missteps and gaining share in several markets, said it was aware of the tender results in China.

“We respect the customers’ decision and remain committed to continuing to support China Telecom and China Unicom’s business in the future,” a spokesperson said.

This was the second phase of the 5G radio contracts by Chinese telecom operators and covers thousands of new base stations.