Samsung outlines aim to be one of the 'top three' 5G firms

published 21 June 2016

Samsung is planning to invest heavily in 5G mobile networks with the aim of becoming one of the top three companies in the world, an executive told Reuters.

The Korean tech giant has its sights set on Nokia, Huawei and Ericsson, which currently lead the networking market.

"It's important to get in early," Samsung's head of network business Kim Young-ky told Reuters in an interview. "We plan to move quickly and want to be at least among the top three with 5G".

The company is reportedly targeting a sales figure of more than 10 trillion Won (around 5.82 billion) in 5G-enabled networking equipment, according to a Samsung spokeswoman.

5G is expected to offer speeds up to ten times faster than current 4G networks. Adoption of the 5G standard is expected to begin in earnest by 2020, with rollouts across both consumer tech and connected Internet of Things (IoT) appliances.

Samsung in particular has already made the case for certain 5G applications, partnering with Deutsche Telekom at Mobile World Congress 2016 in order to demonstrate its suitability for complex surgical procedures, using 5G to help a robot pick up a ball in just 0.75 seconds.

The company missed out on last generation's 4G boom when it backed WiMax technology, rather than the now-ubiquitous LTE standard. The company has now Verizon who are expected to be one of the first commercially available 5G networks.

Verizon is currently carrying out 5G field tests in the United States, and is expected to start rolling out 5G capabilities on a trial basis next year.

Adam Shepherd has been a technology journalist since 2015, covering everything from cloud storage and security, to smartphones and servers. Over the course of his career, he’s seen the spread of 5G, the growing ubiquity of wireless devices, and the start of the connected revolution. He’s also been to more trade shows and technology conferences than he cares to count.

Adam is an avid follower of the latest hardware innovations, and he is never happier than when tinkering with complex network configurations, or exploring a new Linux distro. He was also previously a co-host on the ITPro Podcast, where he was often found ranting about his love of strange gadgets, his disdain for Windows Mobile, and everything in between.

You can find Adam tweeting about enterprise technology (or more often bad jokes) @AdamShepherUK.