The Mobile Core Network (MCN) market recorded strong growth in the second quarter of 2025, according to a report by Dell’Oro Group. Overall, the MCN market grew 19 percent year-over-year (Y/Y) in 2Q 2025, fueled by rapid expansion in the 5G segment.
The 5G Mobile Core Network segment experienced remarkable growth of 31 percent Y/Y, while the Voice Core segment grew 18 percent Y/Y, contributing to an overall robust performance in the sector, the report on Mobile Core Network Market indicated.
“With the strong growth we have seen in the first two quarters, we are doubling the growth rate for 2025 to 10 percent Y/Y,” said Dave Bolan, Research Director at Dell’Oro Group.
Dave Bolan highlighted the drivers behind the surge in 5G MCNs, including increasing 5G Standalone (5G SA) subscribers and additional 5G SA launches by mobile network operators (MNOs). To date, 71 MNOs worldwide have launched 5G SA services, with five launches in 2025 alone, and more 5G SA networks are expected over the coming years.
The June 2025 Ericsson Mobility Report predicts that global 5G subscriptions will reach 2.9 billion by the end of 2025, accounting for roughly one-third of all mobile subscriptions, with a long-term forecast of 6.3 billion 5G subscriptions by 2030.
As 5G SA networks mature, new elements are entering the market, such as new radio (NR), reduced capability (RedCap), and network slicing. NR RedCap helps reduce the cost and complexity of 5G SA IoT devices, boosting the adoption of connected devices like smartwatches and AR glasses. Dynamic network slicing delivers on-demand performance, useful for specific venues or events, while static network slicing supports fixed wireless access and mission-critical services that require consistent performance.
Meanwhile, MNOs are upgrading their voice cores to cloud-native IMS cores, driving growth in the Voice Core market. The adoption of Voice over NR (VoNR) further strengthens the 5G Mobile Core segment.
The report also highlights impressive growth in Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC), a sub-segment of the 5G Packet Core, which rose 32 percent Y/Y in 2Q 2025 and is projected to increase 44 percent Y/Y for the full year.
Vendor Rankings for 2Q 2025:
Worldwide: Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE
Worldwide excluding China: Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE
Telecom infrastructure providers — Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, and ZTE — have unveiled advancements in Mobile Core Network (MCN) technologies, focusing on AI integration, cloud-native architectures, and energy efficiency.
Huawei introduced the industry’s first AI-native core network at MWC 2025, aiming to enable intelligent connectivity for AI agents. Additionally, the company showcased its AI-driven green and energy-saving 5G cloudified core network, developed in collaboration with China Mobile.
Ericsson partnered with Google Cloud to launch Ericsson On-Demand, a carrier-grade 5G core-as-a-service platform built with AI at its foundation. The company also assumed responsibility for core network operations across all network generations for GCI Communication Corp, leveraging AI to enhance customer experience.
Nokia was ranked #1 for portfolio competitiveness in Omdia’s “Market Landscape: Core Vendors – 2025” report. The company is focusing on AI integration and network infrastructure, shifting its core focus from mobile networks to AI infrastructure and optical networking amid declining RAN revenues .
ZTE unveiled its AI-driven autonomous network strategy at Digital Transformation World 2025, emphasizing that autonomous networks have become the cornerstone of operators’ digital transformation. The company launched the AIR Net Solution with a tri-engine architecture and open-sourced its Co-Sight Framework, driving L4+ network autonomy through interconnected engines and innovations in data creation, advanced Graph Search, and cross-vendor interoperability.
With continued 5G SA network rollouts, cloud-native voice core upgrades, and MEC adoption, the Mobile Core Network market is set for sustained growth through 2025 and beyond.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
