The central themes of last week’s Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) in Istanbul were that Huawei made a big deal about 5.5G and AI. More specifically, Huawei’s radio team pointed out that its recently improved cellular uplink capabilities will be critical as AI, robots, and automobiles create a surge in cellular traffic demand for uploads. Its FDD team has developed its “M-receiver” M-MIMO uplink radios using eight simultaneous streams to increase device support and range. The TDD radio team is now introducing mmWave products, given that the market for mmWave spectrum is being introduced in China. Additionally, the company’s radio and core teams showed significant improvements to their AI-based “smart” capabilities to decrease power usage, improve troubleshooting, reduce human intervention, and optimize user experiences. We left this conference with the impression that Huawei is developing significant new RAN technology while embracing adjacent markets, like robotics, to drive new opportunities.
5.5G and Robots. As we are roughly halfway in the ten-year upgrade cycle of 5G, Huawei pitched its “5.5G” vision, which we interpret as involving more uplink capabilities with lower latency. We were not surprised that the company showed demonstrations of VR and AR, but the company invited multiple robot companies, including a Chinese robot and humanoid robot company, Unitree. Additionally, multiple operators, such as T-Mobile Germany and Thailand’s AIS, presented and explained that their use of predictive and generative AI “software robots” leads to significant cost improvements.
We inquired about Huawei’s RAN and Telecom Core hardware strategy in light of semiconductor restrictions. Huawei’s perspective has been unchanged since we last inquired about this topic. We reiterated that since it cannot support numerous processing chips available to others in the RAN market, it’ll stay the course and continue to make its chips in-house. In addition to continuing to be a vertically integrated RAN vendor, the company will continue its role as a prime contractor for its operator customers. This enviable position allows it to offer a full suite of products, software, and services beyond that of RAN and Telecom Core systems, which were the MBBF show’s primary concentration.