In the global race for 5G development, China's growing influence is hard to ignore. The competition for 5G patents has intensified, with Chinese companies stepping up their R&D investments and pushing for a stronger presence in the international market. While global giants like Qualcomm and Ericsson are vying for leadership, ZTE and other Chinese firms are quickly catching up, showing that China is no longer just a player in the background.
The saying goes, "First-class companies set standards, second-class ones offer services, and third-class ones produce goods." In the context of 5G, the real battle lies in shaping the global standards. As the race for patent dominance heats up, leading companies—both from China and abroad—are actively working to secure their positions at the top of the 5G industry.
This month, Qualcomm revealed its pricing model for 5G intellectual property licenses. According to the company, the cost for a single-mode 5G phone is 2.275%, while multi-mode devices (supporting 3G, 4G, and 5G) will be charged at 3.25%. This means that every 5G phone sold could result in an average royalty payment of around $16.25 to Qualcomm.
In November, Ericsson submitted a groundbreaking 5G patent application known as “end-to-end,†which integrates numerous 5G-related inventions into a comprehensive network architecture. Stefan Parkvall, a principal researcher at Ericsson, emphasized that this patent covers everything needed to build a full 5G network, promising significant impacts on industries and society by enabling low latency and high performance for applications like the Internet of Things.
Ericsson’s focus isn’t just on mobile phones—it extends to the massive IoT market, which is expected to reach trillions of dollars in value. This strategic move highlights how 5G is not just about faster connectivity, but also about building the infrastructure for future smart systems.
Unlike earlier wireless technologies such as 2G, 3G, and 4G, China is no longer just following the lead. It is now a key player in shaping the 5G standard. According to Wang Lei from the State Intellectual Property Office, China’s 5G patent applications have surged, with mainland China leading globally in 2017. Huawei, one of China’s leading telecom companies, filed over 4,906 5G-related patents in 2016, making it the top applicant in the country.
Huawei has invested heavily in 5G R&D since 2009, spending over $600 million on research, which placed it at the forefront of global communications vendors. The company has made significant progress in areas like 5G network architecture, spectrum usage, and base station implementation. By 2018, Huawei planned to invest more than 5 billion yuan in 5G productization.
Other Chinese companies, like ZTE, hold over 1,500 domestic and international patents, positioning them strongly within the domestic market. Datang Telecom plays a central role in China’s 5G development, participating in key technical working groups and contributing to critical studies.
Zhang Xinsheng, vice chairman of the China Communications Society, stressed that unlike previous generations of wireless technology, 5G is largely based on new core technologies. Whoever holds the patents and sets the international standards will have a voice in shaping the future of 5G. For Chinese companies, this presents a golden opportunity to take a leading role in the next phase of global telecommunications.
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