Huawei working on 5G-enabled mobile phones

Foresees introduction of fifth generation technology in Pakistan in the near future

LAHORE: Huawei Consumer Business Group Pakistan is striving to take advantage of the latest fifth generation (5G) technology as its executives are working to create 5G-enabled handsets in synchronisation with its parent company, Huawei Technologies China.

Owing to the large size of the market with a population of over 200 million, the executives consider Pakistan as a potential market.

In terms of volume, the company has surpassed Apple globally in the second quarter of this year. In Pakistan, it posted a growth of over 100%, taking its market share to 22.2% in the second quarter of 2018 from 10.5% in the same quarter of previous year.

"Owing to Pakistan's acceptance of new technology, Huawei foresees 5G introduction in the near future and for this it has already started working to launch 5G-enabled handsets in Pakistan," Huawei Business Group Middle East and Africa (MEA) Region President Gene Jiao told The Express Tribune.



"5G depends heavily on the service provider, so we can only say Huawei is capable of introducing 5G phones on the condition that carriers support the next generation technology."

Nevertheless, he said its parent company was at the forefront when it came to introducing the 5G internet technology by 2020 and that provided an opportunity for them.

"Our mission is to push down the cost of every byte of technology in the future, so our consumers can enjoy more innovation at a much lesser price than they are currently giving," said Jiao.

The company is targeting to become world's number one smartphone seller by the end of 2019 as it has shipped 95 million smartphones in the first half of 2018.

Since Pakistan is a fast emerging market for the company besides having a strong history of acceptance and adaptability with new technologies, the company plans to continue introducing innovative devices at competitive prices.



"Advancements in technology have given rise to the need for faster internet connectivity. Therefore, 5G is the future of internet. It will be commercially available in many countries by 2020 and we believe it will be a ground-breaking experience for everyone," the official said.

Huawei has been exploring 5G since 2009 and has injected at least $600 million into research and innovation by 2018, achieving breakthroughs in areas such as network architecture, spectrum usage, air interface technology, prototype development and field verification.

Pakistan has made a lot of advancement in information technology as figures show 3G/4G penetration in the country has reached 56.08 million users.

"This suggests that people are adopting smart technology at a growing pace. Pakistan's technology adoption rate is over 9%, much more than Europe where it currently stays below 5%," Jiao added.



On the smartphone side, reports suggest that subscribers will reach 17 million by 2020. "This is a huge opportunity for us and we have a proper plan to utilise this by introducing next generation innovative devices," he said.

"Pakistani users are also ahead of India in the use of mid-range smartphones with price range of $400 to $600," he said, adding Pakistan's market gave a good response to all entry-level, high-end and technology-oriented products.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 1^st, 2018.

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