While Huawei is aiming to dethrone Samsung as the number one smartphone vendor globally, Samsung has set its sights on Huawei strong position in the networking infrastructure business. A Reuters report citing unnamed sources within Samsung claims that the Korean company wants to capitalize on the difficult situation Huawei has found itself in.

The Chinese giant is facing major roadblocks worldwide that prevent it from participating in building many national 5G networks. Whether we talk about the U.S., many countries in the EU, Japan, or Australia, Huawei is being banned by governments from 5G bids, citing national security concerns. Huawei has continuously denied Beijing’s implication but, led by the U.S., many countries are blocking Huawei from getting involved with 5G infrastructure.

We’re bolstering our network business to seize market opportunities arising at a time when Huawei is the subject of warnings about security. — unnamed source within Samsung.

This is a situation which Samsung wants to take advantage of. Said sources said that Samsung is “moving high-performing managers and numerous employees to the network division from its handset unit“. By focusing on its telecom network equipment business, Samsung aims to fill the void Huawei is forced to create.

The report also mentions that potential customers are already noticing Samsung’s efforts. Orange, which operates in 27 countries, is set to run 5G trials with Samsung equipment this year, after the company CFO was satisfied with the progress in Japan, during her visit there. “Samsung is doing a big push in Europe at the moment“, another source said.

In order to become competitive, Samsung aims to invest $22 billion in its 5G mobile technology efforts over the next three years.