As Goldman Sachs is predicting a huge boom from upcoming 5G mobile technology, it recently upped its 5G smartphone estimates for next year from 50 million to 120 million, according to reports.
An analyst at the company, Rod Hall, said that after doing some supply chain research, he realized there were “much higher” sales of 5G devices than previously expected, especially in China.
Hall previously thought that because of the Huawei trade restrictions, 5G would only be available to a limited number of people. However, he now says that’s not the case.
“We believe Huawei’s ability to build 5G NR gNBs without U.S. components should help to drive meaningful deployments in China in 2020, which support additional Chinese 5G device sales,” Hall wrote.
The technology is expected to allow for much faster download speeds and new mobile services that will propel the industry forward, generating significant profits for telecommunication companies. Major carriers in the U.S., including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, are putting the technology in place.
Verizon, which is reportedly the most advanced of the bunch, is already offering the new technology in New York City. The company is tracking to have 5G in 30 cities by the end of the year.
Mobile phone companies like Apple, Samsung and Huawei are expected to see customers trade in 4G phones in droves to procure devices that support 5G.
In fact, 5G is expected to fuel a whole new economic era, called the Industrial Revolution 4.0.
A big part of this new industrial revolution, at least according to scholars and other observers, is the rise of what are commonly called “smart factories,” which, among other things, feature a new level of automation and efficiency. Such capabilities can’t really be enjoyed without the fast and reliable transmission of data, which is where the emerging 5G mobile technology comes in.