Open RAN Investments Could Approach $15 Billion

September 6, 2021

Forecasts of open RAN radio and baseband projections have been revised upward – with total cumulative open RAN revenue now projected to approach between $10 billion and $15 billion between 2020 and 2025, according to Dell’Oro Group.

“The momentum with both commercial deployments and the broader open RAN movement continued to improve during the first half of 2021, bolstering the thesis that open RAN is here to say,” said Stefan Pongratz, vice president and analyst with the Dell’Oro Group. “We are adjusting the forecast upward to reflect the higher baseline and the improved pipeline.”

According to Dell’Oro Group’s “Open RAN Advanced Research Report,” open RAN revenue is expected to account for more than 10 percent of the RAN market by 2025, reflecting healthy traction in multiple regions with both basic and advanced radios. The report said that open RAN massive MIMO projections have been revised upward to reflect the improved competitive landscape and the improved market sentiment with upper mid-band open RAN.

The shift towards virtualized RAN (V-RAN) is progressing at a slightly slower pace than open RAN, according to the report. Nevetheless, the report said, V-RAN projections remain relatively unchanged, with V-RAN expected to approach $2 billion to $3 billion by 2025.