Although Europe's four major telecom operators – Vodafone, Orange, Deutsche Telekom, and Telefonica – had signed memorandum of understanding on the implementation of Open RAN (O-RAN) based networks in Europe in early 2021, Rakuten Mobile's ongoing operating losses have put uncertainty to O-RAN's future.
The ongoing shortage of notebook-use chips, panels and other components is expected to improve substantially in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to Digitimes Research.
US cable operators Comcast, Charter, AT&T and Verizon have seen huge growth in users as remote learning and working are still dominant. Meanwhile, small and medium DSL Internet providers who do not offer high-speed Internet connectivity are struggling, seeking bankruptcy protecion or suffering huge declines in revenue. These DSL providers are now being subsidized by the US government to upgrade to fiber network. This year, the US telecom market will continue to robust growth, as the US government plans to funnel US$3 billion out of the Biden administration's US$1.9 trillion COVID relief bill into paying for low- and middle-income families' Internet bills.
Smart manufacturing and remote collaboration have been in hot demand since the pandemic hit the manufacturing industry. Augmented reality (AR), for one, can be integrated into both remote and on-site operations and can help improve efficiency. However, site regulations and evaluations of benefit must not be overlooked. Manufacturers should go through trial phases before investing in advanced AR wearables, 5G private network, AR software, etc.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will see their combined sales of memory products (mainly DRAM and NAND flash chips) increase 16.7% sequentially to KRW26 trillion (US$23.3 billion) in the second quarter of 2021, buoyed by rising chip ASPs, according to Digitimes Research.
Vodafone has announced the construction partners for its Open RAN (O-RAN) networks that are being installed in the southwest of England and Wales, setting the stage for the further advancement of the O-RAN market.
Global top-5 notebook brands, not including Apple, saw their combined shipments drop 7% on month in May. Despite strong notebook demand from the end market, IC supply remained constrained, while the issue of incompatible components at vendors worsened, according to figures from Digitimes Research.
China's top-3 pure-play foundries are expected to see their combined revenue grow 16% on year to hit another record high in 2021, buoyed by continued strong demand for power devices, CMOS image sensors, radio-frequency ICs and other chip solutions demanding specialty-node manufacturing, according to Digitimes Research.
Taiwan's PC monitor shipments are expected to grow about 3% on both sequential and on-year bases in the second quarter of 2021, as shortages of related components and materials continue to constrain growths, according to Digitimes Research.
The 5G private network architecture outlined in 3GPP Release 16 allows businesses to deploy private networks by themselves, which will not only bring changes to the previous model that relies on telecom operators in the 4G era but also the rise of Open RAN (O-RAN) market, according to Digitimes Research.
Worldwide smartphone shipments are likely to reach 650 million units in the first half of 2021, and shipments in the first and second quarters each will register a double-digit growth from a year earlier, according to Digitimes Research forecasts.
Combined revenue of Taiwan's top-3 pure-play foundries are expected to grow 2% sequentially to US$15.19 billion in the second quarter of 2021, according to Digitimes Research.
Some first-tier brands, including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, are likely to see their smartphone shipments decline in the second quarter of 2021 due to shortages of semiconductor components, according to Digitimes Research.
Global all-in-one (AIO) PC shipments went down 5.5% sequentially to come to 3.37 million units in the first quarter of 2021, due to a high comparison base a quarter ago and shortages of panel and chips.
Despite seeing strong demand from the education and enterprise sectors, the global top-5 notebook brands (not including Apple) still saw their combined shipments slip 4% on month in May, due to component shortages.
Taiwan's large-size TFT LCD panel shipments (excluding Sharp's) for first-quarter 2021 slipped 3.4% sequentially but grew 51.5% on year to 72.25 million pieces, according to Digitimes Research.
