Dell’Oro Group revises near-term Cloud RAN and multi-vendor RAN forecasts

Dell’Oro Group revised its Open RAN (ORAN) and Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) (RAN) forecasts, lowering near-term Cloud Radio Access Network (RAN) and multi-vendor revenue but strengthening long-term ORAN assumptions; this affects RAN procurement and architecture planning for network operators.

Market Overview

The Dell’Oro Group published an ORAN Advanced Research Report updating projections for ORAN, Cloud RAN, and multi-vendor RAN across macro and small cell segments and baseband/radio over a five-year horizon.

Key Findings

Near-term ORAN revenue expectations were revised downward while long-term growth assumptions strengthened, reflecting current Open Fronthaul deployment and improving visibility; Open FH is increasingly specified as a baseline capability for next-generation RAN platforms.

Cloud RAN projections were revised downward due to performance, power, and cost-parity challenges with purpose-built RAN; multi-vendor RAN is now expected to account for less than 5 percent of total RAN by 2030, down from the prior 5 to 10 percent range.

Segment or Supplier Performance

The report states multi-vendor RAN will represent under 5 percent of total RAN by 2030, a downward revision from the previous 5–10 percent forecast.

Technology or Trend Analysis

“Openness, intelligence, automation, and virtualization remain key pillars in the next-generation RAN platforms,” said Stefan Pongratz.

“But the adoption curves vary. The likelihood that Open RAN, Cloud RAN, and Multi-vendor RAN will play a major role in the second half of 5G and from the start with 6G is likely, less likely, and unlikely, respectively,” said Stefan Pongratz.

Forecast or Analyst Outlook

The firm strengthened long-term ORAN assumptions while noting Cloud RAN timing will be affected by virtualization performance and cost challenges; Open FH deployment is cited as improving strategic visibility for next-generation RAN planning.

The report condenses revised near-term and long-term expectations and the implications for RAN planning for network operators. This Analyst Signals brief reflects a neutral, fact-based summary of the original research note.