Dell’Oro Group provided a gloomy assessment of open RAN revenue in 2024 as market conditions remained challenging, highlighted by a 30 per cent year-on-year decline for the first three quarters of the year.

VP of RAN market research Stefan Pongratz stated in a blog short-term visibility is hazy due to slowed 5G adoption and delays in technology readiness, though remained positive in the longer-term prospects.

“With largescale greenfield deployments now mostly in the past, the broader market sentiment will remain uncertain until 5G activity in the US/Japan improves or modernisation projects utilising the latest O-RAN ULPI interfaces firm up,” he wrote.

The company stated open RAN investments accelerated at a rapid pace between 2019 and 2022 before cooling in 2023.

It predicts open RAN revenue to comprise a mid-single-digit share of the overall RAN market this year and 8 per cent to 10 per cent in 2025.

The top three open RAN suppliers across the opening nine months were Samsung, NEC and Fujitsu based on worldwide revenue.

While greenfield open RAN revenue stalled in the US and Japan, recent moves by AT&T could indicate growing momentum for brownfield deployments.

In the opening nine months, virtualised RAN revenue fell 15 per cent.

The top three vendors were Samsung, Fujitsu and Ericsson.