The telecommunications equipment market has undergone tremendous changes! NEC has sadly withdrawn, and Japanese manufacturers have been completely eliminated!

NEC's dismal exit and the complete elimination of Japanese manufacturers not only signify the strategic contraction of a long-established enterprise in a crucial arena, but also indicate that Japan's telecommunications equipment industry, which once stood shoulder to shoulder with European and American giants in the 3G era, has suffered a comprehensive structural defeat. The competitive landscape of the global 5G battlefield has thus become further concentrated, with only Chinese and European giants remaining in a state of confrontation.

NEC's exit strategy is unequivocal. The company's president, Takayuki Morita, publicly stated that in principle, it will no longer invest in the development of public base stations in the future, completely ending its presence in this field. This statement stands in stark contrast to the ambitious strategic goals set four years ago, leaving one to sigh with regret. Recalling to 2020, NEC had forged a deep capital and business partnership with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), and received an investment of approximately 64.4 billion yen from NTT. At that time, both parties vowed to capture 20% of the global base station market share by 2030, showcasing their grand ambitions. However, just four years later, this grand vision was completely shattered due to the continuous shrinkage of market share, ultimately leading to a disheartening exit.

NEC's collapse is not an isolated incident, but an epitome of the overall decline of Japan's communication equipment industry. In fact, before NEC, another Japanese company, Fujitsu, had already divested its related communication equipment business ahead of time. Kyocera, which had originally planned to enter the 5G base station market in 2027, also chose to give up after assessing the market situation. Now, with NEC's withdrawal, Japanese domestic enterprises have basically been "completely wiped out" in the field of 5G public base stations. Even domestic telecom operators in Japan have also turned to purchasing equipment from foreign companies such as Ericsson, forming an embarrassing situation where "local enterprises do not use local products".

Behind the collective elimination of Japanese manufacturers lies the cruel winner-takes-all logic of competition in the global 5G communication equipment market. According to data from international market research firm Omdia, nearly 80% of the current global base station market share is firmly controlled by three giants: Huawei from China, Ericsson from Sweden, and Nokia from Finland. Among them, Huawei ranks first globally with a 31.3% share, followed closely by Ericsson with 24.3%. Nokia and ZTE of China rank third and fourth with 19.5% and 13.9% of the market share, respectively. The combined market share of these four companies is close to 90%. In contrast, NEC and Fujitsu have a combined market share of less than 2%. In the 5G race, characterized by rapid technological iteration, high R&D investment, and significant economies of scale, they have long been severely marginalized and struggle to form effective competitiveness.