Qualcomm Inc on Tuesday said it will produce chips for 5G telecommunications networking gear, marking the first entry by a major American technology company into a market dominated by European and Chinese firms.
San Diego-based Qualcomm is already the largest supplier of chips for mobile phones, including the modem chips that connect handsets to newer 5G wireless data networks capable of faster speeds than LTE networks. But the market for the 5G base stations and other infrastructure purchased by telecommunications carriers has been dominated by players such as Nokia, Ericsson and, before the U.S. government moved to cut off its ability to secure semiconductors, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd .