• Ericsson’s lead diminished.
  • Samsung the most obvious beneficiary of Huawei’s misery.
  • Nokia still lacking star quality.
  • Qualcomm and Intel in rare face-off, with hub:raum also now a key enabler.
  • Supporting pack reinvigorated, with TMUS-Sprint merger completion opening doors to new crowd.

Deutsche Telekom 5G Momentum Index — April 2020

The latest Deutsche Telekomwatch 5G Momentum Index (5GMI) to April 2020 highlights a tight pack of vendors jostling for position, with a mid-tier consolidating (and reshuffling) behind clear leader Ericsson.

Ericsson has been reeled in, but also showing signs of renewal, buoyed by recent wins in Hungary (with a deal closed for Magyar Telekom) and Greece (Cosmote). March 2019’s 5GMI marked Ericsson’s ascent in DT’s 5G ecosystem (Deutsche Telekomwatch, #81), and although it’s current position should not be misconstrued as a demise, it certainly represents a fall from undisputed dominance.

Nokia and Huawei, former runners‑up, have also slipped, with no player obviously filling the vacuum left by the Chinese vendor. Huawei’s failure to navigate regulatory and geopolitical obstacles in Europe and the US mean it must drastically reshape its model to retain a semblance of favour within DT accounts. Nokia is yet to capitalise, and is at best just managing to maintain its footing as DT’s backup vendor, while facing increased competition from Samsung. DT-spinoff MobiledgeX is retaining its top-table billing since its debut into the 5G ecosystem in 2019.

Arch-rivals Qualcomm and Intel have both shown renewed vigour, are now neck‑and‑neck for the enabler top‑spot, after the latter closed the gap.

A shuffled grupetto sees O-RAN Alliance leading the charge for the open RAN community, with a storming VMware edging ahead of Cisco, SAP, MediaTek, Ottopia, and plummeting Huawei — in what has become a competitive pack of diverse vendors.

Inevitably, the now‑approved T‑Mobile US (TMUS) merger with Sprint is set to affect galvanise the OpCo’s 5G supply chain as it consolidates its networks and infrastructure. MasTec and Ceragon Networks were first to flag their TMUS 5G vigour.

TMUS also leads the OpCo 5G momentum rankings, bolstered by its ingestion of Sprint infrastructure. Telekom Deutschland is nipping at its heels, benefitting from a recent run of campus network rollouts. Hungary’s Magyar Telekom has upped its pace after a dip, keeping it level with T-Mobile Netherlands, and ahead of its Czech counterpart. Austria, Croatia, and Poland appear to have lose momentum in their respective 5G plays.

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