71 MNOs Have Launched 5G Standalone With 5 New Launches in 2025
According to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, security, networks, and data center industries, the Mobile Core Network (MCN) market experienced robust growth of 19 percent year-over-year (Y/Y) in 2Q 2025. The 5G MCN segment saw an impressive increase of 31 percent, while the Voice Core segment grew by 18 percent Y/Y, contributing to strong growth in the second quarter.
“With the strong growth we have now seen in the first two quarters of the year, we are doubling the growth rate for 2025 to 10 percent Y/Y,” stated Dave Bolan, Research Director at Dell’Oro Group. “Factors contributing to the growth of 5G MCNs are increasing 5G Standalone (5G SA) subscribers and more 5G SA launches by mobile network operators (MNOs). We have identified 71 MNOs that have launched 5G SA service for consumers, including five launches to date in 2025. Other MNOs have 5G SA networks on the drawing board that will be coming to market over the next several years.
“As 5G SA networks continue to mature, we see more 5G SA elements coming to market, such as new radio (NR), reduced capability (RedCap), and network slicing. NR RedCap reduces the cost and complexity of 5G SA IoT devices, which will add to the uptick of devices connecting to 5G mobile core network, such as smartwatches and AR glasses. Dynamic network slicing provides on-demand performance as needed by users, such as at a given venue or wireless broadcasters. Static network slicing is being used for fixed wireless access and mission-critical services that require full-time performance enhancements.
“At the same time, we see MNOs realizing the potential of their 5G SA cloud-native network. MNOs are beginning to upgrade their voice cores to cloud-native IMS cores, fueling the growth of the Voice Core market. Meanwhile, if the upgrade is for Voice over NR (VoNR), it also adds additional fuel to the 5G Mobile Core growth,” added Bolan.
Additional highlights from the 2Q 2025 Mobile Core Network and Multi-Access Edge Computing Report include:
- Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC), a sub-segment of the 5G Packet Core, was up 32 percent Y/Y for 2Q 2025, and is projected to be up 44 percent Y/Y for 2025.
- For 2Q 2025, the vendor rankings were:
- Worldwide: Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, and ZTE
- Worldwide, excluding China: Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, and ZTE.
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