The commercialization of 5G is approaching after having accumulated power for action while the PCB industry stands by

Date: 2019-07-22

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2019 is regarded as the first year for 5G developments. Along with the countdown of commercialization, printed circuit board (PCB) industry manufacturers are optimistic about the demand in the second half of the year. This demand would mainly include infrastructure as the base station and its related equipment. As such, PCB manufacturers are actively striving to accomplish their infrastructure layout.

The Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) indicated that the current supply chain for 5G PCB (ranging from materials, equipment, and substrate manufacturers) have not yet been fully finalized. Hence, any new material or process is likely to depart from the existing supply chain system and is considered as a great opportunity for many manufacturers in terms of transformation and upgrading.

The total investment in 5G infrastructures will be 2 to 3 times greater compared to 4G, while the substrate material used will be 3 to 5 five times greater in 5G compared to 4G. In order to accommodate the features of high frequency, high-speed, large-scale data loading, low loss, and others, the substrate material will have to be upgraded for replacement to a significant extent. Besides, 5G will also cause network service operators and telecom operators to update their equipment vastly, in order to meet the market demands, which should also benefit the relevant supply chain.

While focused on benefitting from the 5G-business opportunity, the PCB industry has already started working on its infrastructure layout. Manufacturers of copper-clad laminate (CCL), one of the PCB materials, have additionally been investing in expanding their CCL production. TUC is also expected to have its new plant completed in the second half of the year, allowing for the mass production of high-order materials. Moreover, EMCTW si expands its production at Huangshi for the purpose of aiding the domestic market supply in the mainland.

Iteq decided to set up a plant in Jiangxi to expand its production capacity and it is expected to reach the production capacity of 300,000 pieces in the third quarter of 2019 and 600,000 pieces by the end of the year. The niche-type manufacturer, Ventec, has also noted that some of its 5G products will be reaching its harvesting period, which is expected to have a significant contribution to the company’s profits.

Flexium, the manufacturer of FPB, plans to start the construction of their two mainland plants (Kaohsiung and Kunshan) in the second quarter of 2019 while investing as much as NT$10 billion to establish new plants in order to double the production capacity as the company focuses on 5G high-frequency wireless transmission, 5G materials, and 5G antenna module technology. Furthermore, Flexium will also increase its production capacity in the abovementioned diversified 5G range in addition to the production of mobile phones. As such, Flexium is expected to exceed its competition while leading the way for future 5G industries.

The PCB leader, Zhen Ding, has always emphasized that manufacturers in the trade must follow the trend of cutting-edge technology, as a consequence of the medium and long-term layout. In terms of strategy, manufacturers should continue to improve the existing PCB software, PCB hardware, high-density connecting substrate, semiconductor substrate, and also progress its expansion to categories such as SLP, rigid-flex board, COF, and others to actively develop a complete product system. Consequently, developing a complete product system would then create a specialty department store for the PCB industry. (News source: TPCA, Commercial Times).

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The commercialization of 5G is approaching after having accumulated power for action while the PCB industry stands by

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