Dell'Oro Group projects mobile core network revenues peak in 2026

Dell’Oro Group projects mobile core network (MCN) revenues will reach an all-time high in 2026 as 5G standalone rollouts, enterprise APIs, and agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) increase demand for MCN capacity.

Market Overview

5G standalone network rollouts have reached high population coverage in 40 countries, offering higher downlink and uplink speeds and lower latency compared with earlier generations.

The analyst note states these rollouts are creating conditions for more subscribers to migrate to 5G SA networks and for enterprise applications to expand at the network edge.

Key Findings

The MCN market revenue low point occurred in 2024, and the market is projected to reach a historic high in 2026, measured from the start of the Edge Resource Allocator (ERA) ERA in 2020.

Analysts cite the rise of Common Network Programmable APIs and the growing use of agentic AI as contributors to higher MCN capacity needs, especially at enterprise premises.

Segment or Supplier Performance

The Voice MCN market hit a revenue low in 2023 and is forecast to reach new revenue highs in 2026 as networks migrate from circuit-switched core to Integrated Maritime Surveillance (IMS) Core.

Upgrades to 5G Voice-Over-New-Radio (VoNR) with cloud-native IMS cores are noted as enabling enhanced immersive and interactive voice calls and the IMS Data Channel for features within the smartphone’s native dialer.

Technology or Trend Analysis

The report highlights Common Network Programmable APIs and the ERA ERA as enablers for scalable enterprise applications that increase edge capacity demand.

Agentic AI operating continuously on behalf of subscribers is expected to raise background traffic and MCN capacity requirements.

Forecast or Analyst Outlook

The analyst projects overall MCN revenues will climb to an all-time high in 2026 as more subscribers join 5G SA networks and enterprise usage grows.

The 4G MCN market is expected to decline as subscribers migrate to 5G SA, but the rate of decline will slow in markets still adding 4G subscribers, and some Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) sunsetting 3G Multicloud Networking (MCNS) will increase demand for 4G capacity.

The analyst summary consolidates the trends and projections above for enterprise and network planners. This Analyst Signals brief reflects a neutral, fact-based summary of the original research note.