The chief executive of Huawei said on Monday the pace of commercialisation for next-generation 5G wireless network is picking up as the Chinese telecom equipment maker has begun pre-commercial development with more than 30 network operators.

Huawei’s Hu said 2018 will mark the first year of commercialisation for 5G.

“We have seen the emergence of real demand for 5G technologies,” said Hu, CEO of the world’s No.3 smartphone maker.

Growth in current generation 4G wireless networks peaked in 2015, according to market analysts, and the mobile equipment industry is counting on a new potentially decade-long cycle of 5G network upgrades to kick off in earnest around 2020.

Huawei reported 2017 revenue of $92 billion (65.46 billion pounds) but growth slowed to 15 percent from 32 percent in 2016 and 37 percent in 2015.

It is targeting total revenue of more than $102 billion for 2018, Chinese media reported last month, which in yuan terms would mean growth falling to 9 percent.

In response to a question from Reuters, Hu said that each of the three arms of its business - operator, enterprise and consumer - would have positive growth, but he declined to give specific figures, saying its 2018 targets would be announced next month.

By: DocMemory
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