The global RAN market continued its gradual recovery in the second quarter of 2026, according to new research from telecommunications market intelligence firm Dell'Oro Group.

Worldwide RAN revenue rose modestly year over year during 2Q 2026, slightly outperforming expectations and marking the third straight quarter of growth. The development comes after more than two years of contraction in the radio access network market, which has been pressured by uneven 5G investment cycles, inventory adjustments and differences in operator spending across regions.

Stefan Pongratz, vice president at Dell'Oro Group, said the latest results reinforce the view that the market's “coverage-to-capacity correction” is largely behind it.

The improvement is not yet a full-scale recovery. Dell'Oro continues to forecast broadly flat worldwide RAN revenue for 2026, indicating that the industry remains in a stabilization phase rather than entering a new high-growth cycle.

For telecom operators and network equipment vendors, that distinction matters. A stable RAN market provides a more predictable investment environment, but it does not necessarily signal a return to the rapid infrastructure spending associated with earlier phases of the global 5G rollout.

Three Quarters of Growth Change the Market Narrative

The most important signal from the second-quarter results may be the duration of the improvement.

One quarter of growth can be explained by temporary factors, large customer contracts or regional fluctuations. Three consecutive quarters provide a stronger indication that the market is finding a floor.

The underlying correction has been particularly visible as operators shifted from broad network coverage expansion toward capacity upgrades and targeted investments. Once large-scale 5G coverage requirements began moderating, equipment demand became increasingly tied to traffic growth, spectrum availability and individual operator investment priorities.

Dell'Oro's latest data suggests that this adjustment is becoming less severe.

However, regional performance remains uneven. Some markets continue to invest in network modernization, while others remain constrained by operator capital expenditure plans and broader economic conditions.

That unevenness is likely to remain a defining characteristic of the RAN market through the rest of 2026.

Huawei Leads, While Vendor Performance Diverges

The competitive landscape changed relatively little during the first half of 2026.

Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE and Samsung remained the five largest RAN suppliers by worldwide revenue in 1H26. Together, the five companies accounted for approximately 96% of the global RAN market, underscoring the high concentration of the telecommunications infrastructure industry.

Huawei recorded a strong second quarter, according to Dell'Oro, while Ericsson's performance was softer than expected.

Despite the differing quarterly results, supplier rankings remained unchanged and market-share movements were described as modest.

The stability illustrates the difficulty of disrupting the global RAN supplier market. Network operators tend to maintain long-term relationships with equipment vendors because changing suppliers can involve significant technical, operational and financial complexity.

The competitive environment is also shaped by geopolitical factors. Restrictions affecting Chinese telecommunications equipment in some markets continue to influence vendor opportunities, while European and Asian suppliers operate within increasingly fragmented regional procurement environments.

What the Stabilization Means for 5G Infrastructure

The RAN market sits at the center of mobile connectivity infrastructure. It includes the radio equipment that connects smartphones, connected devices and other endpoints to cellular networks.

As 5G networks mature, the industry's growth model is changing.

The initial 5G cycle was driven heavily by coverage expansion and network modernization. Future spending is more likely to depend on capacity requirements, spectrum utilization, enterprise connectivity, private networks, fixed wireless access and new applications that generate additional network traffic.

That creates both opportunities and challenges for vendors.

Network operators need to justify infrastructure spending through measurable returns, while equipment suppliers must demonstrate why additional investment is necessary in an environment where existing 5G networks can often accommodate substantial traffic.

Open RAN is another factor influencing the long-term competitive landscape. The technology aims to create more interoperable network architectures and potentially broaden the supplier ecosystem. However, traditional RAN vendors continue to dominate commercial deployments, and the Dell'Oro rankings show that the incumbent market structure remains largely intact.

Flat Growth Still Represents Progress

Dell'Oro's unchanged 2026 outlook provides an important reality check.

Despite second-quarter revenue coming in slightly ahead of expectations, the research firm still expects global RAN revenue to remain broadly flat for the year.

For vendors, flat revenue may sound underwhelming, but following more than two years of contraction it can represent meaningful stabilization. It also gives suppliers greater visibility into demand and creates a more predictable base from which future network investment cycles can develop.

Supply-chain conditions and regional demand will remain important variables during the second half of the year.

Operators could accelerate spending if traffic growth, spectrum availability or new applications require additional capacity. Conversely, economic pressure or cautious capital expenditure plans could limit the pace of recovery.

Market Landscape

The global RAN industry remains one of the most concentrated segments of telecommunications infrastructure. Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE and Samsung collectively captured 96% of worldwide RAN revenue during the first half of 2026, according to Dell'Oro Group.

The market is simultaneously undergoing a technological transition. Operators are moving from initial 5G deployment toward optimization, capacity expansion and increasingly specialized network architectures.

Cloud-native networking, Open RAN, network automation and AI-assisted network operations could influence the next investment cycle. Hyperscalers such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google are also becoming more relevant to telecom infrastructure as operators explore cloud-based network functions and AI-driven network management.

For established RAN vendors, the challenge is to capture new growth opportunities without undermining the economics of their existing infrastructure businesses.

Strategic Outlook

The second-quarter RAN results suggest the telecom equipment market may finally be emerging from its prolonged correction, but the recovery remains fragile.

Three consecutive quarters of growth provide a stronger foundation than the industry had at the beginning of the downturn. Yet Dell'Oro's flat 2026 forecast shows that operators and suppliers are still operating in a cautious investment environment.

The next phase of RAN growth will likely be driven less by simple network coverage expansion and more by capacity requirements, network automation, enterprise connectivity and new 5G use cases.

For vendors, maintaining market share may be as important as pursuing revenue growth. For operators, the priority will be extracting more value from existing networks while selectively investing where additional capacity or new capabilities can produce measurable returns.

Top Insights

• Global RAN revenue grew for a third consecutive quarter, suggesting the prolonged telecom infrastructure correction is moving toward a more stable phase.
• Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE and Samsung retained their leading positions, collectively controlling 96% of worldwide RAN revenue in 1H26.
• Dell'Oro expects worldwide RAN revenue to remain broadly flat in 2026 despite stronger-than-expected second-quarter performance and improving market conditions.
• Regional demand remains uneven, making operator investment cycles, supply chains and geopolitical conditions important variables for RAN vendors.
• Future RAN growth could increasingly depend on network capacity, automation, enterprise connectivity and advanced 5G applications rather than coverage expansion.

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