By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung Electronics aims to boost network equipment sales to 11 trillion won ($10 billion) from the current 3 trillion won by 2015.
If this goal is attained, Samsung will be among the top three firms in the sector globally.
The plan is part of the company’s efforts to develop new growth engines and reduce its reliance on the TV, smartphones and component businesses.
``Samsung aims to become a global supplier of network equipment. Currently, we want to shift our focus and raise sales,’’ a senior executive told The Korea Times, Monday.
The company recently designated the network equipment business as one of its growth engines as major telecommunication companies worldwide are investing in faster and advanced fourth-generation (4G) Long Term-Evolution (LTE) networks.
``Samsung strongly believes it should seek an annual growth rate of more than 50 percent in the sector,’’ said the executive.
He added that Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jay-yong and mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun are directly leading the initiative.
Lee and Shin will fly to Barcelona, Spain, to attend the Mobile World Congress (MWC) late February. They will discuss several pending issues with major telecom operators there.
``The network business is one of them,’’ said an executive, asking not to be identified.
A spokesman declined to comment on the issue, but admitted that the network equipment business is showing momentum in Europe, the Middle East, India, Japan, China and the United States amid an explosive demand for LTE-enabled digital devices such as tablets, phablets and phones.
Currently, China’s rising budget phone maker Huawei is leading the global network equipment market, followed by Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, IBM and Cisco.
These firms have been in a cutthroat competition to win contracts to provide routers and switches for LTE networks as operators invest to meet a surge in data traffic spurred by the popularity of Web-connected mobile devices. Samsung aims to beat Nokia, IBM and Cisco within three years.
According to the executive, under the ambitious vision, Samsung is seeking to strengthen its foothold in the U.S. market by enhancing its strategic relationship with Cisco after the U.S. government recently banned market leader Huawei from entering the network equipment market, citing the risk of espionage.
The U.S. government recently noted that Huawei may not be the only company posing a risk to U.S. telecom networks but the firm’s growing access to classified information on U.S. companies can be used by Beijing.
``To be honest, such a political decision in the U.S. is giving substantial help in enabling Samsung to lift its presence in the market there,’’ said the executive.