Dell’Oro Group indicated open RAN revenue was set to decline in 2023, but noted the long-term forecast remains positive due in part to an improved pipeline in the US.

The research company expects open RAN revenue to account for 20 per cent to 30 per cent of worldwide revenue by 2028, up from 7 per cent to 10 per cent in 2024.

In July 2023, it predicted open RAN revenue would account for 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the overall market by 2027.

VP Stefan Pongratz noted the current growth deceleration, “combined with the increased acceptance that open RAN is not some kind of magic solution that will significantly alter barriers to entry or overall market concentration, is prompting more questions” about the rationale behind the technology.

But he explained the fundamental assumptions shaping the role open RAN will play haven’t changed.

“Over time, operators will incorporate more virtualisation, intelligence, automation, and O-RAN into their RAN roadmaps,” he stated, but noted the business case for multi-vendor RAN is less compelling.

Data from the report shows single-vendor open RAN is expected to drive the lion’s share of the open RAN market going forward. Multi-vendor open RAN is forecast to account for 5 per cent to 10 per cent of total RAN revenues by 2028.

Last month the research company tipped overall RAN revenue to decline in 2023 and market conditions to remain challenging in 2024 due in part to a drop in demand from India.