The roll-out of fifth-generation (5G) networks and their associated infrastructure will provide the minor metals sector with the greatest potential for growth, panelists said in Fastmarkets' recent minor metals webinar.
The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown measures have underscored the need for greater bandwidth capacity along with fast and reliable networks, delegates heard.
"We can all see that remote working is here to stay, and anything related to the Internet of Things (IOT) and 5G are likely to benefit from it," Suzannah Lipmann, managing director of minor metals trading company Lipmann Walton, said.
Lipmann's comment echoed the results of a survey about opportunities in minor metals post Covid-19 sent to industry insiders in June.
In the poll, 81% of respondents ranked 5G and its infrastructure as the end-user segment with the greatest growth potential, followed by consumer electronics (43%), and healthcare technology in the third place (18%).
The transition to 5G is likely to drive a particular rise in demand for metals used in electronics such as gallium, germanium and indium in the long term, webinar speakers said.
"Germanium and...