RAN spending holds steady as vendors eye 6G era

Global spending on radio access networks (RAN) is expected to stay broadly flat over the next five years, according to new forecasts from market research firm Dell'Oro Group. The firm predicts the worldwide RAN market will grow at about 1% compound annual growth rate, signaling a stable but slow-moving sector rather than a new investment boom.

The outlook suggests operators will continue to focus on sweating existing 4G and 5G assets while laying groundwork for 6G. That likely means incremental upgrades, selective Open RAN deployments, and targeted capacity additions instead of large-scale new buildouts, as the industry moves cautiously toward the next technology cycle.