Trends
RAN market holds steady while core revenue surges on 5G SA
Dell’Oro data shows global RAN market is flat while mobile core revenues jump 14% as 5G SA and Advanced deployments surge.
Headline
Dell’Oro data shows global RAN market is flat while mobile core revenues jump 14% as 5G SA and Advanced deployments surge.
Context
New data from Dell’Oro Group , indicates that the global RAN (Radio Access Network) equipment market was essentially flat in the third quarter of 2025. This follows two years of steep declines, and Dell’Oro calls it a sign of stabilisation rather than recovery. Dell’Oro’s figures exclude China, and when North America is also removed, a modest increase in RAN demand emerges. Growth in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) almost offset declines in other regions. Stefan Pongratz , VP of RAN market research at Dell’Oro, suggests that while short-term RAN investment may remain muted, vendors see a long-term need to transform RAN from a simple connectivity layer into an “intelligence grid.”
Evidence
Pending intelligence enrichment.
Analysis
By contrast, mobile core network revenues outside China rose by 14% year-over-year in Q3. More operators are migrating customers to 5G Standalone (SA), bolstering core spending. Dell’Oro notes that 72 operators have currently rolled out 5G SA. There’s also a signal of growing 5G-Advanced deployments. Dell’Oro identified 12 operators that have commercially launched 5G-Advanced, including major players in China, the UAE, Malaysia, Australia, the U.S. and more. Also Read: Ericsson and Orange expand 5G trials with AI and Cloud RAN Also Read: Indosat, Nokia & NVIDIA open AI‑RAN centre in Indonesia The flat RAN market may seem underwhelming, but the stabilisation after multiple quarters of decline is a meaningful inflection point for the telecom infrastructure industry. Vendors have struggled, but the plateau suggests that capex could be bottoming out — potentially setting the stage for future growth. Meanwhile, the strong performance in mobile core signals that operators are increasingly prioritising 5G SA and 5G-Advanced as they seek to monetise more sophisticated network capabilities, such as network slicing and private 5G.
Key Points
- After two tough years, the global RAN market has flattened, signalling a return to equilibrium.
- Mobile core revenues grew by 14 percent year-on-year, driven by 5G SA migrations and 5G-Advanced deployments.
Actions
Pending intelligence enrichment.
