Huawei Plots Return to 5G Industry by End of Year, Following US Ban on Sales

After the United States ban on equipment sales that decimated the company's consumer electronics business, Huawei Technologies is planning to come back to the 5G smartphone industry by the end of the year.

Returning to the 5G Smartphone Market

Huawei Technologies of China is planning to reenter the 5G smartphone market by the end of this year. According to a report from Reuters, this indicates a comeback for the company's consumer electronics business, which was severely affected by a U.S. ban on equipment sales.

If the company successfully makes a comeback in the 5G phone market, it would represent a significant triumph for Huawei which had previously described itself as being in a "survival" state for nearly three years. In 2020, Huawei's consumer business revenue reached its peak at $67 billion, only to experience a drastic decline of nearly 50% in the following year.

Before the US restrictions in 2019 that cut its access to chipmaking tools essential for producing its most advanced models, the company vied with Apple and Samsung, hoping to be one of the world's biggest handset markets. However, Huawei fell from the rankings worldwide just last year as the company was stuck selling last-generation 4G devices.

In November 2022, the Biden Administration banned the approvals of new telecommunications equipment from Huawei Technologies and ZTE as they both pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.

The Guardian reported that the restriction barred the sale or import of equipment made by Chinese surveillance equipment maker Dahua Technology and telecommunication company Hytera Communications Corp.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel stated, "These new rules are an important part of our ongoing actions to protect the American people from national security threats involving telecommunications."

Huawei was one of the Chinese companies considered to be banned aimed at protecting US communication networks, along with ZTE, Hytera Communications Corp Hikvision, and Dahua. European governments also labeled the company a security risk that the company continuously denies.

New Strategies

During its peak year, Huawei shipped 240.6 million smartphones globally in 2019. This month, the company raised its mobile shipment to 40 million units from 30 million earlier this year without referencing 5G phones.

Channel News Asia predicts that the company is also expected to produce a new version of flagship models to compete with other devices like Apple iPhones in early 2024. But these predictions were only based on received via checks with contacts in the company's supply chain and recent company announcements.

Experts also believe that the EDA software of the company could be used with SMIC n+1 manufacturing process to make chips at the equivalent of 7 nm, which is the powerful semiconductor usually utilized in 5g devices.