Cloud RAN and Multi-vendor RAN Forecast Revised Downward
According to a recently published report by Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, security, networks, and data center industries, Open RAN has come a long way since the Open RAN Alliance was formed back in 2018. But the results have been mixed, and the vision and expectations have evolved.
“Openness, intelligence, automation, and virtualization remain key pillars in the next-generation RAN platforms,” said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President of RAN market research at the Dell’Oro Group. “But the adoption curves vary. The likelihood that Open RAN, Cloud RAN, and Multi-vendor RAN will play a major role in the second half of 5G and from the start with 6G is likely, less likely, and unlikely, respectively,” continued Pongratz.
Additional highlights from the February 2026 Open RAN Report:
- Near-term Open RAN revenue expectations have been revised downward, while long-term growth assumptions have strengthened, reflecting the current pace of Open Fronthaul (Open FH) deployment and its improving strategic visibility. Open FH is increasingly being specified as a baseline capability for next-generation RAN platforms.
- Cloud RAN projections have been revised downward. While virtualization remains a key pillar of the long-term RAN roadmap, performance, power, and cost-parity challenges with purpose-built RAN are affecting the timing.
- Multi-vendor RAN is now expected to account for less than 5 percent of total RAN by 2030, down from 5 to 10 percent with the previous forecast.
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