According to TrendForce research, shipments of 5G FWA devices will reach 7.6 million units in 2022, an annual increase of 111%, due to the expansion of 5G coverage and growing market demand for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services. 5G FWA device shipments in 2023 are estimated at 13 million units. At present, Nokia, Huawei, Casa Systems, and TCL have launched relevant solutions, using Qualcomm, MediaTek, and UNISOC made chips. Taiwanese players include Arcadyan, Zyxel, Sercomm, Wistron NeWeb, Askey, and Alpha Networks. As installed capacity increases, new demand is created for communication equipment manufacturers and new business opportunities become available to upstream component suppliers.
The entire world utilizes the building of 5G networks to meet the needs of individual users and vertical industries and, as the ubiquity of 5Q continues to broaden, its applications cover the medical, education, industry, and agriculture sectors, forming a business model that can be replicated and promoted, and accelerating development of its network scale. TrendForce estimates that Huawei, Ericsson, and Nokia will account for 74.5% of the global base station market in 2022.
In 2022, the United States, China, and the United Kingdom will actively promote the deployment of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. According to TrendForce, growth momentum comes from a sharp rise in International Telecommunications Union (ITU) demand for orbits, spectrum specifications, and global bandwidth. In addition, Satellite Internet is regarded as a primary communications solution for remote villages, rural areas, and sea and air transportation. A Hybrid Network can be developed to improve bandwidth and coverage through a combination of satellite communications technology and terrestrial networks. TrendForce forecasts that by 2023 the global output value of the satellite industry can reach US$308.3 billion, with an annual growth rate of 4.5%.
Wi-Fi 6E was commercialized in 2021 and, in addition to supporting the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands, it can also operate in the 6 GHz band. According to TrendForce research, Wi-Fi 6E is designed to reduce network congestion and interference through more numerous, wider, and non-overlapping channels (transmission channels for signals in communication systems), while Wi-Fi 6 and 6E’s regular wake-up mechanism (Target Wake Time) effectively coordinates network traffic and maximizes the battery life of smartphones. By 2025, the market share of smartphones supporting Wi-Fi 6 and 6E is estimated to surpass 80%.
5G communications have seen various uses in telemedicine and industrial IoT during the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. Primary applications of 5G during this period include contactless disinfection robots, remote work, and distance learning. Currently, China has been most aggressive in developing 5G networks, with more than 400 5G-related innovative applications in transportation, logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare in 1H20. At the same time, the emergence of 5G services has created a corresponding surge in base station demand.
