Dell'Oro Group raises five-year forecasts for 5G mobile core network and MEC

Dell'Oro Group published a market report that raised five-year forecasts for the 5G Mobile Core Network and Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) markets, citing growing demand for lower-latency Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications.

The report identified several market drivers, including an inflection in 5G SA subscriber growth as networks matured and expanded coverage to more cities, including rural and indoor areas, and the introduction of Reduced Capability (RedCap) 5G SA chips for smartwatches and lower-cost 5G SA Internet of Things (IoT) devices; it also noted that new Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) prepared to launch additional 5G SA networks.

The study described technical developments and network changes, including modernization of Integrated Maritime Surveillance (IMS) Core to a cloud-native architecture, the retirement of additional 3G networks, and deployment of 5G Voice over New Radio (VoNR) with new immersive and interactive calling features.

The report offered detailed coverage of mobile core and MEC markets, with tables for manufacturers' revenue, shipments, and average selling prices for Traditional Packet Core, Evolved Packet Core, 5G Packet Core, Policy, Subscriber Data Management, Signaling, Circuit Switched Core, and IMS Core by geographic region, and it listed regional rank order for cumulative 5G MCN revenue.

“Other factors include the launch of 5G-Advanced by a dozen MNOs, introducing new capabilities, including dynamic network slicing, which will drive new consumer and enterprise low-latency applications, also driving demand for more MEC nodes throughout MNOs' networks and on-premises for enterprises. The increasing adoption of Agnetic AI will increase the demand for more MCN capacity and MEC nodes, fueling growth,” Bolan added.

The report projected a 12 percent Compound Annual Growth rate (CAGR) for the global 5G Mobile Core Network market and a 22 percent CAGR for the MEC market from 2025 to 2030.