Dell’Oro Group reports microwave transmission equipment revenue fell in 2025

Dell’Oro Group reports point-to-point microwave transmission equipment revenue ended 2025 down one percent after early-year growth, with revenue concentration increasing among the top six vendors; this affects backhaul capacity planning.

Market Overview

Dell’Oro Group said point-to-point microwave transmission equipment revenue posted growth in the first half of 2025 but ended the year down one percent.

“Entering the year, we were predicting that the market would increase slightly, driven by growth in emerging markets where wireless backhaul is a critical technology for connecting mobile base stations to operators’ networks. However, the year ended down one percent as demand in India and Latin America faltered. We believe the fundamentals underlying the market condition remain in place, and, therefore, still believe the demand for microwave transmission equipment will grow through 2027, after which time, 5G network deployments should peak,” said Jimmy Yu, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group.

Key Findings

ZTE and Aviat gained positions in the revenue share ranking between 2024 and 2025 while Ceragon lost two positions.

The top six vendors increased their combined revenue share from 85 percent to 87 percent in 2025, and the use of microwave transmission gear in mobile backhaul rose due to 4G and 5G deployments while private networks and mission-critical enterprise demand declined, offsetting that growth.

Segment or Supplier Performance

The vendor landscape continued to evolve in 2025 with more revenue consolidating into the top six manufacturers.

Technology or Trend Analysis

The use of microwave transmission equipment in mobile backhaul increased during 2025, driven by both 4G and 5G mobile radio network deployments.

Forecast or Analyst Outlook

Jimmy Yu said the firm expects demand for microwave transmission equipment to grow through 2027, with 5G network deployments expected to peak after that.

Methodology Notes

The Microwave Transmission & Mobile Backhaul Quarterly Report includes tables covering manufacturers’ revenue, ports and radio transceivers shipped, and average selling prices by capacity segments.

The report tracks point-to-point Tamper Detection Mechanism (TDM), Packet, and Hybrid Microwave and includes full indoor and full outdoor unit configurations.

Dell’Oro Group found the market paused in 2025 amid regional demand weakness and continued vendor consolidation, a result relevant to procurement and network capacity planning. This Analyst Signals brief reflects a neutral, fact-based summary of the original research note.