Ericsson has been recognized as the global leader in the 2025 Omdia Market Landscape report for Core Vendors, achieving the top position in Business Performance and ranking second in Portfolio Breadth and Competitiveness.
The recognition highlights Ericsson’s strong momentum in the core network market, backed by its leadership in 5G deployments, portfolio innovation, and cloud-native capabilities.
Ericsson Leads Business Performance With Strong Growth
In the Business Performance category, Ericsson scored 89.8 out of 100, marking a 26 percent increase from 2024. This jump underscores a year of significant growth, driven by Ericsson’s expanded global footprint with Communication Service Providers (CSPs) and an increased number of commercial 5G core deals, including greenfield networks and vendor replacements.
Omdia also confirmed that Ericsson retained its position as the market leader in revenue market share, further strengthening its leadership throughout 2025.
Competitive Core Portfolio Backed by Cloud-Native Innovation
Ericsson secured the runner-up position in Portfolio Breadth and Competitiveness, reflecting its comprehensive and advanced core network portfolio. The report emphasized Ericsson’s strength in cloud-native readiness, automation, policy and charging, and AI/ML-driven analytics. Ericsson is a leader or co-leader in five of seven core portfolio categories, making it one of the most competitive players in the telecom core space.
The company’s dual-mode 5G Core solution remains at the center of its portfolio, enabling CSPs to deploy networks across both private and public cloud environments. The solutions are designed to enhance automation, security, interoperability, and cost efficiency, supporting seamless connectivity and advanced services for 5G and beyond.
New Launches Strengthen Market Position
Ericsson has continued expanding its portfolio to meet evolving CSP demands. Key developments include:
Ericsson Compact Packet Core – enhancing scalability and efficiency.
Ericsson on-Demand – a new Core-Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform, launched in partnership with Google Cloud, offering CSPs core network functions in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.
These innovations underline Ericsson’s strategy to deliver flexible, future-ready core solutions for operators navigating rapid digital transformation.
Industry Recognition and Market Leadership
Monica Zethzon, Head of Solution Area Core Networks at Ericsson, said:
“Our focus on innovation, reliability, and creating tangible value for our customers has driven clear advances in business performance over the past year. Our leadership position in areas such as automation, cloud-native readiness, and AI/ML highlights the investments we’ve made to remain the partner of choice for CSPs building high-performance 5G core networks.”
Roberto Kompany, Principal Analyst, Mobile Infrastructure at Omdia, added:
“Ericsson leads the market in business performance with a strong presence in 5G core deals and a robust portfolio that excels in cloud-native readiness, automation, and AI-driven analytics, positioning it as the top choice for CSPs in 2025.”
Ericsson Powers Global 5G Core Deployments
Ericsson currently has 140+ unique 5G Core or cloud-native commercial contracts, with 70+ live dual-mode 5G Core customers spanning EPC, 5G Non-Standalone (NSA), and 5G Standalone (SA) networks. The company powers 42 of the world’s 70+ live 5G SA networks, reinforcing its global leadership in next-generation mobile infrastructure.
Huawei
Huawei ranks second in business performance, leading in new customer wins and increasing its 5G deals with CSPs, while placing third in portfolio with strength in signaling, policy and charging, and AI/ML, though it has room to improve in cloud-native readiness and core-as-a-service.
Nokia takes the lead in the portfolio dimension with strong capabilities in cloud-native readiness, automation, and core-as-a-service, but ranks third in business performance due to lower 5G core revenue share despite growth in 5G deals and new customers.
ZTE has advanced in both dimensions since joining the leaders’ tier in 2023, increasing its 5G deals and new customers, and performing strongly in analytics, AI/ML, and core-as-a-service.
Mavenir strengthened its portfolio score in 2025 with a mature set of cloud-native NFs, ranking second in cloud-native readiness and third in categories like automation, though its business performance declined due to fewer 5G deals with CSPs compared to rivals.
Oracle also improved its portfolio score, leading in signaling and showing strengths in automation and policy and charging, but its business performance slipped slightly with fewer 5G deals and new customers. Its 5G core strategy is focused on select NF categories, supported by partnerships for functions like the packet core, while its 5G core is available on Oracle Cloud, though growth opportunities remain in core-as-a-service.
NEC made progress in business performance thanks to a strong 5G share of core revenue and added four new CSP customers, but it lags in 5G deal volume and remains concentrated in Japan, limiting its market reach. With a focus on enterprise markets and core-as-a-service, NEC still has room to expand in signaling and network data analytics functions (NWDAFs).
Samsung improved its portfolio score in 2025 but remains focused only on packet core NFs, lacking signaling, policy and charging, NWDAF, or core-as-a-service solutions, and its absence from entire regions limits its market reach. It could become a major challenger if it secures more 5G deals, grows market share, and expands its offerings.
IPLOOK improved both business performance and portfolio scores, providing 4G and 5G RAN and core solutions, with private networks as its largest market, and showing strengths in cloud-native readiness, core-as-a-service, and automation.
ENEA advanced in both dimensions, increasing 5G deals and new logos while ranking second in analytics and AI/ML; though it offers only a limited set of core NFs such as PCF, SDM, UDR, and SEPP, it performs well in cloud-native readiness and automation.
Viettel achieved solid portfolio rankings with 4G and 5G packet core NFs, NRFs, and NSSFs for its group, while also developing NEFs, NWDAFs, and a converged charging system; its position will strengthen further if it secures 5G deals with CSPs beyond its own operations.
Outlook
With proven strengths in business performance, a broad cloud-native core portfolio, and innovations like Ericsson on-Demand, the company is well positioned to drive the evolution of 5G, cloud-native telecom, and future network transformation. Ericsson’s leadership in Omdia’s 2025 Core Vendor Market Landscape reflects not only its financial strength but also its role in shaping the future of telecom core networks.
Baburajan Kizhakedath