Race for 5G Speeds Up, Lifting West’s Top Suppliers

Nokia and Ericsson say U.S. wireless carriers are planning to upgrade to 5G sooner than expected

The race for 5G, the next generation of wireless technology, is heating up sooner than expected.

That is promising to benefit two struggling Nordic telecommunications-equipment makers just as their two largest competitors—both from China—are hitting potentially serious hurdles.

Ericsson AB of Sweden and Finland’s Nokia Corp. said in the past...