4G equipment demand on rise, backup & collaborations to become effective strategies

Increase in penetration of smartphones and surge in need for better connectivity have risen the need for 4G equipment. Market players have adopted various strategies to stay competitive in the market. Anticipating the ban from the U.S., the Chinese player Huawei implemented a backup strategy that made its 4G equipment available to last a year in India. On the other hand, Mozambique Telecom collaborated with the Chinese government for upgrading its 4G network. Chinese government would offer financial services and expertise for efficient implementation. The demand for 4G equipment would be catered with these strategies. According to the research firm Allied Market Research, the 4G Equipment market to reach $185.05 billion by 2026. Following are some the activities taking place in the industry.

Anticipating the situations in the future and devising strategies accordingly is the best for the business. Huawei has taken a necessary step determining the ban by the U.S. Huawei outlined that it has enough inventory of 4G equipment for the local mobile phone operators that can last for a year. Though the U.S. ban would impact the business of the Chinese firm, the Indian business would not face any impact as stockpiling had been done for telecom operators here. The firm has a strategy in place for avoiding the impact on supply chain of 4G equipment. Mobile operators such as Voda Idea (VIL) and Airtel utilize 4G equipment in several cities. Moreover, the company signed a contract with Voda Idea for offering 4G gear for network expansion and modernization in seven locations. There is a competition for winning contracts for VIL’s core and transport network.

As the Chinese company is dependent upon semiconductors products that have been provided by many U.S. companies, the ban by Trump would affect its telephone equipment requirements. It purchases nearly $67 billion worth of components annually, out of which around $11 billion worth of components are from the U.S. companies. The company anticipated the ban and began developing a backup strategy eight months ago to lessen the impact.

On the other hand, the companies have been taking advantage of expertise and financing of other governments to stay competitive. Mobile operators have been collaborating with 4G equipment providers to deploy the infrastructure and gain a competitive edge. Mozambique Telecom (Tmcel) would avail financial support and expertise from Chinese company for competing with Vodacom and Movitel for offering 4G coverage. Tmcel plans to implement LTE internet connectivity on its network by December 2019. The service would be deployed in Maputo before implementing in other areas. Mozambique Telecom highlighted in an announcement that it would introduce 4G technology by the end of this November as a part of efforts to modernize and upgrade its transmission network.

Carlos Mesquita, the Communications Minister for Mozambique, confirmed that 4G program of the company will be expanded and the finances will be sourced from China. The second phase will be launched with an objective to expand to the entire country. The company has undertaken the project of upgrading the network for improving its services. The operator highlighted that the network upgrade would include implementation of new telecom infrastructure and equipment that can help in improvement of quality and coverage along with increasing the speed of connectivity.

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