In the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, the revenue growth of Private Wireless Radio Access Networks (RAN) saw a notable slowdown, according to recent findings by the Dell’Oro Group.
Despite this, full-year revenues from the Private Wireless RAN business surged by approximately 40 percent in 2023. This growth momentum propelled Private Wireless to constitute approximately 2 percent of the overall RAN market.
Stefan Pongratz, Vice President at Dell’Oro Group, commented on the findings, stating, “Although public RAN continues to drive the majority of the overall RAN Capex, and the investment levels are tracking below some early projections by vendors during the 5G enterprise hype cycle, the reality is that private wireless is experiencing significant growth momentum.”
Stefan Pongratz further highlighted that while public RAN and enterprise WLAN segments are projected to contract in 2024, private wireless is showing resilience and growth.
Key highlights from the April 2024 Private Wireless Report include:
The expanding scope of private wireless, coupled with the untapped $20 billion-plus enterprise RAN opportunity, is attracting interest from various participants across the ecosystem. Traditional RAN suppliers are currently well-positioned in this initial phase.
The top three Private Wireless RAN suppliers in 2023 were Huawei, Nokia, and Ericsson. Excluding China, the top three suppliers were Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung.
The forecast for Private Wireless RAN remains largely unchanged, with a 3 percent increase relative to the previous report. This reflects improvements in bottom-up vendor analysis and a more realistic market size estimation, moving past the hype phase.
The message remains consistent: Private wireless represents a significant opportunity, but widespread adoption of private cellular technologies will take time.
Total Private Wireless RAN revenues are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21 percent over the next five years, while public RAN revenues are expected to decline by 2 percent CAGR over the same period.
The technology mix remains consistent, with 5G dominating in China and LTE prevailing outside of China. Private 5G RAN revenues are forecasted to reach the $1 billion to $2 billion range by 2028.
TelecomLead.com News Desk