Recently, US mobile operator T-Mobile has reached a $3.5 billion next-generation 5G network equipment supply agreement with Nokia. According to the agreement, Nokia will help T-Mobile build a national 5G network. This is the global scale so far. The largest 5G network equipment transaction, is also a concrete example of the new wireless network upgrade cycle is gradually unfolding.
Coincidentally, on July 31, the Central Radio and Television General Station and China Mobile signed a cooperation framework agreement in Beijing, announcing the comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two parties in the six fields of 5G technology research and development, 4K ultra-high-definition channel construction, content distribution, big data and capital. Create a converged development model of content + technology + channels, and fully deploy the 5G era.
With the completion of the Release 155G communication standard by 3GPP in June 2018, the industry will set off a 5G boom in 2018. According to industry expectations, 2019 will be the first year of 5G commercialization, and by 2020, 5G will be globally large. Scale application. According to the China Information and Communication Research Institute's "5G Economic and Social Impact White Paper", by 2030, in terms of direct contribution, 5G will drive a total output of 6.3 trillion yuan, with an economic value added of 2.9 trillion yuan; In terms of indirect contribution, 5G will drive a total output of 10.6 trillion yuan, with an economic value added of 3.6 trillion. So, in the face of such a huge market, LED display How will manufacturers take the 5G east wind to meet new opportunities and challenges?
Machine: Promote market development, bring technological innovation
The rapid development of 5G commercial, the most direct impact is to promote the construction of macro base stations and micro base stations, accelerate smart city management, industrial control and other terminals Display market The pace of full progress, and the two have a significant correlation with the wisdom pole.
The smart light pole includes LED smart light pole screen, LED smart street light and other parts, following the road of the city, the street distribution, covering the body of the city like blood vessels and nerves, and having the 'net, a little, pole' trinity The characteristics are the main carriers of smart cities and will become the first site for intelligent urban transformation. By the end of 2017, the three major operators have built 4G macro base stations to reach 3.89 million, and the number of base stations corresponding to the coverage radius of the reference spectrum, predicting 5G. The macro base station is about twice as large as 4G. Due to the perfect integration of small base stations and smart light poles, the light pole-based small base station deployment is the main form of outdoor deployment. After system calculation, the installation of 5G base station will drive 117.6 billion wisdom lights. The pole market, with an annual average of 29.4 billion, means that the LED pole screen will usher in the spring of the market.
In addition to giving LED display Industry brings huge market demand, 5G technology will also be LED display Screen display The effect has brought about earth-shaking changes. Nowadays, with the continuous maturity of technology, whether in the field of beauty or outdoor, the combination of LED display and 4K, 8K ultra-high-definition video, naked-eye 3D, and VR, AR and other technologies The more you come, but for now, there are more challenges and risks in terms of technical operation and display effects.
However, the "White Paper on Economic and Social Impacts of 5G" issued by relevant research institutions pointed out that virtual reality, augmented reality and intelligent driving are the key applications in the 5G era that the industry generally agrees with. Virtual reality technology has broad prospects, especially in combination with mobile high-speed broadband. It is more likely that the virtual reality experience will get rid of the shackles of boxes and wires and go further. It is not difficult to understand that the most advanced part of 5G is to ensure high data, no delay in the transmission of big data, and new technologies such as AR and VR. Related to data. 5G is part of a versatile infrastructure that is critical to the popularity of VR and AR terminals. Because VR, the popularity of AR terminals depends on the development and maturity of 5G. Therefore, I believe in the 5G era. LED display and AR, VR combined application will bring more unique, high-definition, immersive visual experience to end customers.
Danger: raw materials are in short supply, market penetration is not enough
Admittedly, everything has two sides, the advent of the 5G era, bringing opportunities for the development of the LED display industry, but also facing LED display manufacturers facing enormous challenges.
The LED display industry has been turbulent since the second half of the year. After the price increase of upstream raw materials, downstream LED display manufacturers have also made important decisions - price increases, which is not only the LED display jumped out of the 'price war' black hole One step also means the awakening of the benign competition values of LED display manufacturers. From the perspective of the entire environment of the electronics industry, as China gradually enters the 5G era, consumer electronics faces a new round of development, demand for high-frequency high-speed copper clad laminates. It will show exponential growth. Because compared with communication, lithium battery and automotive industry, the LED display industry has relatively low technical requirements for PCB. At the same time, the reshuffle of small and medium-sized PCB companies leads to the overall capacity compression, and the big manufacturers generally bet on future capacity. In the communications, lithium battery and automotive industries, resulting in PCB in the LED display industry in short supply, which will bring a huge impact on the industry's smaller LED display companies.
At the same time, compared to 4G, the radiation range of 5G is smaller, which means that to achieve sufficient coverage, more 5G base stations will be built, and 5G base stations need higher cost, so they need to build a good 5G network. Operators invest a lot of money to build. In the face of the high cost of 5G, this is undoubtedly a difficult turning point for many LED display companies. How to make enough capital to enter the market, in the future On the other hand, because the general customer's perception of 5G is not obvious, the progress of users changing to 5G is obviously not very fast. How to let customers accept and use 5G? It is also a big problem for LED display manufacturers.
5G's future application space is limitless, just as we can't imagine the diversified application of the current 4G era in the 2G era. Nowadays most people can think of the 5G application scene is just the tip of the iceberg, and the 5G era needs more application exploration. And from the current situation, China's LED display companies are seeking brand strategy to further enhance the added value of products, the coming of the 5G era is bound to bring subversive changes to the LED display industry.
