5G Network and Link Simulation Patent Landscape 2026
The 5G network and link simulation patent field is in a growth phase, with annual filing volume rising and Samsung Electronics holding the clearest lead at 14 patent families. Activity is moderately concentrated among wireless specialists and test-equipment vendors, while AI-assisted channel modeling and power-grid integration represent the most active emerging directions.
Samsung leads a moderately concentrated field with a clear tier gap
Samsung Electronics holds the top position with 14 patent families, more than double the next-ranked filer, Pivotal Commware at 6 patent families. The top five filers together account for 25% of the combined total across the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate but not extreme concentration.
A visible tier gap separates Samsung from a mid-tier cluster — Pivotal Commware, Qualcomm, and Keysight Technologies — each holding between 3 and 6 patent families. Below them, most filers hold only 1–2 patent families, pointing to a long tail of occasional participants rather than a deep second tier.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 14 | |
| 2 | Pivotal Commware Inc. | 6 | |
| 3 | Qualcomm Incorporated | 5 | |
| 4 | North China Electric Power University | 3 | |
| 5 | Yonsei University | 3 | |
| 6 | Keysight Technologies Inc. | 3 | |
| 7 | EdgeQ Inc. | 2 | |
| 8 | Northeastern University (US) | 2 | |
| 9 | NOKIA SOLUTIONS & NETWORKS OY | 2 | |
| 10 | China United Network Communications Group Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | 2 | |
| 12 | Southeast University | 2 | |
| 13 | Jiangsu Automation Research Institute | 2 | |
| 14 | Dolby Network Technologies LLC | 2 | |
| 15 | Dell Products LP | 1 | |
| 16 | State Power Investment Corporation Research Institute | 1 | |
| 17 | Xiamen University | 1 | |
| 18 | China Railway Qinghai-Tibet Group Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 19 | STATE GRID HENAN INFORMATION & TELECOMM CO | 1 | |
| 20 | Shenzhen Jizhihuiyi Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 |
Samsung’s position, anchored in wireless network monitoring and resource management (H04W), gives it broad coverage across the simulation stack. Mid-tier players show sharper specialization: Pivotal Commware focuses on beam-forming and transmission, while Keysight concentrates on over-the-air test infrastructure — niches that do not directly compete with Samsung’s breadth.
Filing data for the most recent 18–24 months is subject to publication lag, so counts for 2024–2026 understate true activity; growth in those years will appear larger as records are published. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing volume is rising and AI integration is reshaping the technology mix
Annual filing trends show a field in genuine growth since 2017, with the technology composition revealing that core wireless protocol work is being supplemented by AI and digital data processing. Together these charts show both where activity is concentrated today and where technical diversification is accelerating.
Annual filing trend
Filings were sparse from 2017 through 2020, then accelerated sharply from 2021 onward. The multi-year window shows 65% recent growth. The 2024–2026 bars are understated due to publication lag and will rise as records publish — do not interpret the 2025–2026 portion as a plateau.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H04W (wireless communication networks) dominates with 77 records, followed by H04B (transmission, general) at 47 and H04L (digital information transmission) at 30. Notably, G06F (digital data processing) and G06N (AI models) together account for 49 records, signaling a strong computational and AI thread running through the corpus alongside the core radio-layer work.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
VERFAHREN ZUR ERZEUGUNG EINER NETZWERKSIMULATIONSP…
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intelligence and Learning in O-RAN for 5G and 6G C… | 95 |
| 2 | 基于数字孪生的5G融合网架构下多模终端接入系统及方法 | 32 |
| 3 | RF signal repeater device management for 5G wirele… | 27 |
| 4 | 一种基于神经网络的无线信道建模方法 | 26 |
| 5 | Multi-probe anechoic chamber (MPAC) over-the-air (… | 20 |
| 6 | RF signal repeater device management for 5g wirele… | 19 |
| 7 | 一种基于隧道环境的三维非平稳宽带双簇信道建模方法 | 19 |
| 8 | RF signal repeater device management for 5G wirele… | 13 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of growth-stage dynamics, moderate concentration, and technology diversification creates both competitive pressure in core wireless simulation and genuine white space in adjacent branches. The following cards summarize the key structural signals.
Growth stage: annual filings rising with no evidence of peak
The field is in a growth lifecycle stage, with annual filing volume still rising and the most recent years understated by publication lag. This means freedom-to-operate windows are narrowing in core H04W simulation but foundational positions can still be established — particularly in branches where volume remains low. New entrants are appearing across all major filers, consistent with a field that has not yet consolidated.
Growth stageModerate concentration with a wide long tail
The top five filers hold 25% of the combined total among the hundred largest filers, and most participants hold only 1–2 patent families. This structure means Samsung’s lead is real but not insurmountable — a focused program of 5–10 well-placed filings in under-covered sub-classes could establish a meaningful position. The long tail also suggests many potential licensing partners or acquisition targets among occasional filers.
Moderate HHISamsung–Yonsei is the most active co-filing pair; intra-ecosystem ties dominate
The most active co-filing relationship is between Samsung Electronics and Yonsei University (3 joint patent families), reflecting a tightly coupled industry-academia channel in South Korea. North China Electric Power University co-files with State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power, State Grid Corporation, and China Electric Power Research Institute — a cluster oriented toward grid-integrated 5G simulation. Nokia Solutions and Nokia of America co-file once, indicating internal portfolio coordination. No cross-continental collaboration pairs appear in evidence.
Ecosystem clustersChina dominates filings; US and PCT routes are secondary
China accounts for 63 patent records, far ahead of the United States at 18. WIPO PCT filings stand at 12, with Europe (EPO) and India at 5 each and South Korea at 3. The strong China weighting reflects both domestic Chinese filers (utilities, universities) and foreign players — including Samsung and Nokia — choosing CNIPA as a primary protection jurisdiction. Teams building global freedom-to-operate should prioritize China, the US, and PCT coverage as a minimum.
China-ledGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Yonsei University | 3 |
| North China Electric Power University | State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Co., Ltd. | 1 |
| North China Electric Power University | State Grid Corporation of China | 1 |
| North China Electric Power University | China Electric Power Research Institute Co., Ltd. | 1 |
| Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy | Nokia of America Corporation | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Samsung leads on breadth; Pivotal Commware and Qualcomm hold focused challenger positions
The leader-challenger gap in 5G network and link simulation is driven by technology focus as much as volume. Samsung covers the full wireless-network monitoring stack, while challengers specialize in beam management, device simulation, or test infrastructure.
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics holds 14 patent families, the largest position in the corpus. Its technology emphasis is concentrated in H04W 24 (wireless network monitoring, 10 records), H04W 16 (network planning and architecture, 7 records), and H04W 72 (resource management, 6 records) — a broad coverage of the network simulation stack. Momentum trend is flagged as a new entrant in the recent measurement window, consistent with the field’s overall growth phase rather than a retreat.
families: 14Pivotal Commware
Pivotal Commware holds 6 patent families and focuses tightly on H04B 7 (beam-forming and MIMO transmission, 6 records), H04W 12 (security and authentication, 6 records), and H04W 16 (network layout, 6 records). This specialization in repeater and beam-management simulation — supported by the most-cited RF repeater management patents in the corpus — gives it a defensible niche distinct from Samsung’s monitoring-layer breadth. Momentum trend is flagged as a new entrant in the recent window.
families: 6| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Pivotal Commware Inc. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Keysight Technologies Inc. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| North China Electric Power University | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| EdgeQ Inc. | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
| Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches adjacent to the core wireless simulation domain
Several IPC classes appear in the corpus at low volume relative to the dominant H04W branch, signaling areas where patent density has not yet matched the technical activity visible in the literature. These are observations of relative sparsity — entry value depends on an organization’s existing technical capabilities and commercial roadmap.
G06N · AI and machine-learning models for channel simulation
With 21 records and an 8% share of the corpus, G06N is already the largest adjacent branch, but it remains sparse relative to the 77-record H04W core. The most-cited document in the corpus is explicitly an AI/ML framework for O-RAN and 5G/6G networks, and a neural-network-based wireless channel modeling patent draws the second-highest citation count. Teams with existing ML model IP could cross-file into this branch to cover AI-assisted link simulation — a direction that aligns with the corpus’s visible trend toward learned channel models.
Search this in Eureka →H02J · Power-grid-integrated 5G simulation
H02J (power supply and grid systems) appears in 6 records with a 2% share, driven by Chinese utility-sector filers such as North China Electric Power University and State Grid affiliates. The combination of 5G private networks and smart-grid monitoring is technically coherent — utilities need to simulate 5G link performance inside substation and distribution environments — but coverage is thin outside China. Organizations active in industrial 5G or smart-grid automation may find this an accessible adjacent branch with limited incumbent density beyond the Chinese utility cluster.
Search this in Eureka →How leading filers differ across technology routes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H04W 24 · Wireless communication networks | H04B 17 · Transmission (general) | G06F 30 · Electric digital data processing | G06N 3 · Computing based on AI models | H04B 7 · Transmission (general) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Strong · 10 | Moderate · 5 | Emerging · 2 | Emerging · 2 | Moderate · 3 |
| Pivotal Commware Inc. | Strong · 6 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 6 |
| North China Electric Power University | Strong · 2 | Strong · 3 | Absent | Moderate · 1 | Absent |
| Yonsei University | Absent | Strong · 3 | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | Strong · 4 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Southeast University | Absent | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 2 |
| Dolby Network Technologies LLC | Strong · 2 | Absent | Absent | Moderate · 1 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The evidence set covers 106 patent families in scope globally.
Samsung Electronics is the top filer with 14 patent families, more than twice the volume of the next-ranked applicant, Pivotal Commware at 6 patent families.
China leads with 63 patent records, followed by the United States at 18, WIPO (PCT) at 12, Europe (EPO) and India at 5 each, and South Korea at 3.
H04W (wireless communication networks) dominates with 77 patent records. H04B (transmission, general) and H04L (digital information transmission) are the next largest branches at 47 and 30 records respectively.
Yes — the field is classified in a growth lifecycle stage, with a 65% recent growth rate. Annual filing volume has risen sharply since 2021. The most recent 18–24 months are understated due to publication lag, so apparent slowdowns in 2024–2026 data should not be interpreted as a real decline.
The most-cited document, with 95 citations, covers intelligence and learning in O-RAN for 5G and 6G networks. Pivotal Commware’s RF signal repeater device management patents for 5G wireless networks appear multiple times in the top-cited list, with individual citation counts of 27, 19, and 13. A neural-network-based wireless channel modeling patent and a 3D non-stationary wideband tunnel channel model also rank among the top-cited documents.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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