According to a newly published forecast report by Dell’Oro Group, the Radio Access Network (RAN) market is now in a downward trajectory. Following the > 40% ascent between 2017 and 2021, RAN revenues stabilized in 2022 and are on target to decline sharply in 2023. Market conditions are expected to remain challenging in 2024 as the Indian RAN market pulls back, though the pace of the global decline this year and for the remainder of the forecast period should be more moderate.

“The big picture has not changed. MBB-based investments are now slowing and the upside with new growth areas including FWA and private wireless is still too small to change the trajectory,” said Stefan Pongratz, vice president at Dell’Oro Group. “Also weighing on the MBB market is the fact that the upper mid-band capacity boost is rather significant relative to current data traffic growth rates in some markets, which could impact the timing for capacity upgrades,” continued Pongratz.

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Additional highlights from the Mobile RAN 5-Year January 2024 Forecast Report:

  • Worldwide RAN revenues are projected to decline at a 1% CAGR over the next five years
  • The Asia Pacific region is expected to lead the decline, while easier comparisons following steep contractions in 2023 will improve the growth prospects in the North America region
  • 5G-Advanced is expected to play an important role in the broader 5G journey, however, it is not expected to fuel another major capex growth cycle
  • RAN segments that are expected to grow over the next five years include: 5G NR, FWA, mmWave, massive MIMO, Open RAN, private wireless, small cells, and virtualized RAN.

About the Report

Dell’Oro Group’s Mobile RAN 5-Year Forecast Report offers a complete overview of the RAN market by region: North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia Pacific, China, and Caribbean & Latin America, with tables covering manufacturers’ revenue and unit shipments for 5G NR, 5G NR sub-7 GHz, 5G NR mmWave and LTE pico, micro and macro base stations. The report also covers Open RAN, Virtualized RAN, small cells, and massive MIMO.