Almost every aspect of our lives is likely to be changed by the coming of 5G, so we believe understanding the true breadth and depth of this investment theme means understanding more than just the semiconductor and telecoms industries.

In this paper, we discuss a handful of the leading providers of key technologies, products or services in each main category of the theme to give a sense of that breadth and complexity. These are not household names and their relevance to the 5G and 6G theme is arguably underappreciated. We believe this is what makes dedicated research and active management necessary components of a successful 5G investment strategy: Next-generation investment themes call for next-generation investors.

Executive Summary

  • The 5G investment theme captures much more than just network infrastructure manufacturers and semiconductor producers.
  • We see a broad range of potential opportunity within our three major 5G investment categories of Network Infrastructure, Internet-of-Things Devices and Applications and Services.
  • Network Infrastructure: Beyond Base Stations
    • Gallium nitride (GaN) and optical lasers for reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs) will be critical to increasing the speed and capacity of our communications networks for 5G.
    • Increasing demand for testing as networks become more sophisticated.
    • Potential opportunities for Sumitomo Electric, RFHIC, Qorvo, Infineon, Lumentum, II-IV Inc, Keysight Technology, Anritsu and others.
  • IoT Devices: Beyond Smartphones
    • 5G has the ability to make seamless augmented, virtual and even “extended” reality possible for the first time, increasing demand for 3D sensors and the vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) that are a key component in them.
    • More expensive smartphones will likely increase demand for secondary products and services, such as device warranties and insurance.
    • Potential opportunities for Lumentum, II-IV Inc, AMS, Assurant and Asurion.
  • Applications and Services: Beyond Telcos
    • 5G is likely to increase the use of cloud computing, moving more and more of our business and working processes online and making network security even more critical.
    • Potential opportunities for ServiceNow, Zendesk, Zscaler, OKTA and Crowdstrike.
  • 6G: Beyond 5G
    • 6G is likely to be with us sooner than you think—perhaps as soon as 2028.
    • As well as amplifying the trends of 5G, we believe 6G connectivity will create a huge number of new applications for artificial intelligence.
  • We believe these examples of potential 5G investment opportunity show why a research capability covering all industrial ectors is a prerequisite for capturing the theme properly.

The 5G Revolution is Expected to Transform Our Lives and Businesses

For illustrative purposes only.

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