London, Feb 26 (IANS): While Ericsson is continuing to benefit from the ramp-up of 5G deployments across the world, Nokia will struggle in 2021 with a further reduction in market share expected, a consequence of the vendor failing to convert all its 4G footprint into 5G, said industry tracker Counterpoint Research.
Ericsson reported a significant increase in radio access network (RAN) hardware sales during the fourth quarter of 2020, an indication that it is extending its footprint.
Strong growth was experienced in China, North America and in Southeast Asia, Oceania and India region.
In Europe, however, the growth was purely from market share gains as the overall market was sluggish and is not growing at this time.
Although revenues decreased in Africa and Latin America during the latest quarter, Ericsson expects to increase market share in both these markets over the coming months as well as in China.
The Swedish vendor now claims that it is seeing market share gains globally from all its competitors and not just in markets where Huawei and ZTE are absent.
Ericsson expects this to continue at least through to mid-2021.
This is due to the competitiveness of its 5G product portfolio from a cost and product feature perspective and due to its future roadmap, Counterpoint Research said on Thursday.
In addition, its sustained investment in research and development (R&D) continues to generate TCO (total cost of ownership) savings for its MNO (mobile network operator) customers.
In the the midst of restructuring, Nokia will struggle in 2021 with a further reduction in market share expected, a consequence of the vendor failing to convert all its 4G footprint into 5G, said the report.
Not only is Nokia absent from the key Chinese RAN market, it is also struggling in North America due to lower volumes due to its reduced market share and price erosion, which is higher in North America than other parts of the world.
In addition, the vendor expects significant currency headwinds during 2021.
However, the report said that Nokia has a very competitive mid-band RAN portfolio and there could be some upside following the completion of the C-band auctions in the US.
In Europe, Nokia is gaining market share due to the absence of Chinese vendors, it added.