Open Radio Access Networks Market to Expand 15.7x from US$2.92 Billion in 2024 to US$45.70 Billion by 2032 as Operators Push Vendor Diversification, Cloud-Native RAN Economics and 5G-Advanced Readiness

NEW YORK, May 13, 2026 - The global O-RAN (Open Radio Access Networks) market reached US$2.92 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach US$45.70 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 41.03% during 2025-2032, according to DataM Intelligence research. The forecast implies an additional US$42.78 billion in annual market value by 2032, driven by telecom operators' move away from closed radio access systems toward open interfaces, multivendor radio sourcing, cloud-native network software, RAN automation, and supply-chain resilience.

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The market is now moving beyond the early "prove interoperability" phase. Operators are asking a harder commercial question: can O-RAN lower lifecycle costs, reduce vendor lock-in, support 5G-Advanced features, improve energy performance, and still give the operator one accountable deployment path? That is where the buying conversation is changing. The winning model is not a loose collection of radios, servers, and software. It is a tested commercial ecosystem made up of operators, systems integrators, radio vendors, software vendors, cloud infrastructure providers, chip suppliers, test labs, and private-network buyers.

The O-RAN Alliance says its specifications have matured significantly and that open, cloud-native design is now becoming a baseline expectation, with 2026 and beyond focused on using O-RAN specifications to update existing 5G networks. The alliance also lists 28 mobile network operator commitments and 226 companies in total, showing that O-RAN has become a broad ecosystem rather than a single-vendor replacement story.

Recent Developments Reshaping the O-RAN Market

1. AT&T moved Open RAN from strategy to lab-validated multivendor execution. In August 2025, AT&T, Ericsson, and 1Finity, a Fujitsu company, completed an Open RAN call using third-party radios at AT&T Labs. AT&T said the data call used Ericsson's RAN Processor 6672 baseband and 1Finity radios, demonstrating interoperability through open interfaces. This follows AT&T's larger commercial plan to have 70% of wireless network traffic flowing across open-capable platforms by late 2026 and a contract with Ericsson that could approach US$14 billion over five years.

2. Rakuten showed the next O-RAN battleground is energy-aware intelligence. In May 2025, Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony announced the deployment of an in-house developed RAN Intelligent Controller platform in Rakuten's 4G and 5G Open RAN network in Japan. The company described it as one of the world's first nationwide commercial RIC deployments in an Open RAN network and said it is expected to enable up to 20% reduction in network energy consumption. Rakuten also noted that the RAN accounts for around 80% of total mobile network power consumption, making RIC-enabled power optimization one of the strongest practical business cases for O-RAN.

3. NEC advanced Near-RT RIC for high-performance vRAN. In February 2025, NEC developed a Near Real-time RAN Intelligent Controller platform and RIC applications compliant with O-RAN Alliance specifications for virtualized RAN. NEC highlighted use cases including load balancing between cells, SLA assurance for network slices, latency-aware reliability, and future applications for quality improvement, power saving, and operational autonomy. This is important because 5G-Advanced networks will need more dynamic control than traditional RAN systems can provide.

4. The O-RAN Software Community moved under Linux Foundation Networking. In April 2026, Linux Foundation Networking welcomed the O-RAN Software Community as a formal project, with the O-RAN Alliance and Linux Foundation continuing collaboration. The migration brings O-RAN SC work across the Service Management and Orchestration framework, RICs, rApps, and xApps into a broader open-source networking environment. This matters for software vendors and operators because O-RAN adoption increasingly depends on repeatable software lifecycle management, not only radio interoperability.

5. U.S. policy funding is targeting Open RAN commercialization, not theory. In January 2025, the U.S. NTIA awarded more than US$117 million under the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund for open radio unit innovation and commercialization. The broader US$1.5 billion fund is designed to advance open and interoperable networks, strengthen supply-chain resilience, and support integration of equipment from multiple suppliers. This is creating a stronger U.S. pipeline for radio vendors, test labs, semiconductor suppliers, and systems integrators.

Market Segmentation:

By offering, hardware remains the largest near-term revenue pool because open radio units, distributed units, centralized units, servers, accelerators, and edge infrastructure still carry large upfront spending. Analyst allocation places hardware at roughly 48% of 2024 revenue, or about US$1.40 billion. However, its share is expected to decline toward 36% by 2032, even as the absolute opportunity rises to around US$16.45 billion. The reason is not hardware weakness; it is the rising value of software, orchestration, RIC applications, testing, and lifecycle services.

Software is expected to be the fastest-scaling offering segment. It is estimated at around 32% of 2024 revenue, or US$0.93 billion, with the potential to exceed US$17.82 billion by 2032 if its share reaches about 39%. This includes vRAN software, CU/DU software, RIC platforms, rApps, xApps, service management and orchestration, security, observability, automation, and AI-native optimization. Operators are not buying software just to virtualize RAN; they are buying it to make RAN programmable.

By component, radio units remain the largest installed-base opportunity, estimated at about 38% of 2024 revenue, or US$1.11 billion. The radio layer is still the most visible piece of the network and the clearest route to vendor diversification. Yet the fastest-growing component is likely to be the RAN Intelligent Controller, estimated at roughly 16% of 2024 revenue, or US$0.47 billion, with potential to exceed US$10.96 billion by 2032. RIC matters because it turns O-RAN from an equipment sourcing model into a network intelligence model.

By end-user, telecom operators account for the majority of spending today, estimated at around 72% of 2024 revenue, or US$2.10 billion. Their share may moderate as enterprises and industrial private-network buyers enter the market, but telecom operators will remain the largest revenue base through 2032. The private-network opportunity is more selective but highly attractive: ports, mines, utilities, factories, campuses, defense facilities, and logistics hubs may not buy O-RAN because it is "open"; they will buy it when it helps them customize coverage, latency, security, automation, and vendor choice.

Regional Analysis:
United States

The United States is becoming the most important commercial proving ground for O-RAN because it combines large operator spending, national supply-chain policy, cloud-native telecom infrastructure, and a strong systems-integration ecosystem. Analyst estimates place the U.S. O-RAN market at roughly US$0.82-0.88 billion in 2024, with potential to exceed US$12.5-13.5 billion by 2032 as AT&T's deployment path, NTIA-backed vendor development, and private wireless adoption scale.

What makes the U.S. market distinctive is the shift from "open RAN as policy ambition" to "open RAN as procurement architecture." AT&T's strategy shows how the sales model is changing: operators want open interfaces, but they also want tested combinations, commercial accountability, domestic or allied supply assurance, and lower operating complexity. NTIA's funding also makes clear that the U.S. is not only chasing lower cost; it is trying to create a more resilient wireless supplier base and bring more open radio units to market.

The biggest U.S. issue that vendors must address is the integration tax. Open systems create choice, but they also move responsibility for interoperability, upgrades, troubleshooting, and performance assurance away from a single closed vendor. This is why systems integrators, test labs, cloud partners, and lifecycle service providers will capture a larger share of O-RAN spending than early market models assumed. Vendors that sell "components" will face longer sales cycles; vendors that sell tested blueprints for AT&T-like scale, rural coverage, neutral-host deployments, defense networks, or industrial private networks will generate stronger leads.

Japan
Japan is a different kind of growth market. It is not only an adoption market; it is a reference market and export platform. Analyst estimates place Japan's O-RAN market at around US$250-300 million in 2024, with potential to reach US$3.5-4.1 billion by 2032 as domestic deployments, OREX global packages, RIC automation, and energy-efficient radio units expand.

NTT DOCOMO's OREX model is central to Japan's positioning. DOCOMO describes OREX as its Open RAN service brand developed with multiple global vendors and says it can help build customized Open RAN systems with vRAN, software, and customer services. OREX Packages also include procurement, system integration, operational support, and maintenance for telecom operators adopting O-RAN. This is a crucial distinction: Japan is commercializing Open RAN as a packaged deployment and integration service, not just as a standards narrative.

Japan is also generating operational proof points. Rakuten's nationwide RIC deployment is creating evidence around AI-driven optimization and power savings, while Rakuten's March 2025 partnership with Fujitsu uses Fujitsu radio units to accelerate 5G Sub-6 network expansion. Fujitsu said the RU adopts O-RAN specifications, has a track record of interoperability with domestic and international vendors, and is designed to be compact, lightweight, and energy-efficient.

Japan's O-RAN demand is shaped by issues that are not always highlighted in global market reports: dense urban site constraints, energy costs, disaster-resilient networks, aging field-service workforces, and the need to export trusted telecom infrastructure to partner countries. The International Open RAN Symposium 2025 was held in Tokyo and included lab tours of Rakuten RICL Lab, OREX and OTIC labs, and NICT facilities, with 141 experts from 21 countries participating. That makes Japan a technical diplomacy hub for Open RAN as well as a vendor market.

Detailed Company Profiles
AT&T Inc.
AT&T is one of the most important demand-side companies in the O-RAN market because it is converting open architecture into a commercial-scale U.S. wireless modernization program. In its 2025 annual report, AT&T reported US$125.65 billion in total operating revenues, including US$89.48 billion from Mobility operating revenues. The company also reported US$22 billion in full-year capital investment and emphasized its investments in fiber and 5G as part of its advanced connectivity strategy.

For O-RAN, AT&T's value is not simply that it is a buyer. It is setting the template for large-operator procurement: open-capable platforms, cloud RAN migration, third-party radios, mixed-supplier hardware, and a broader supplier ecosystem involving Ericsson, Fujitsu, Corning, Dell Technologies, Intel, and others. Its 2025 multivendor Open RAN call with Ericsson and 1Finity gives the market a practical proof point that O-RAN interoperability is moving into commercial execution.

Fujitsu Limited / 1FINITY
Fujitsu is a strategically important O-RAN supplier because it brings radio technology, Japanese telecom deployment experience, and an expanding global network business. Fujitsu's Integrated Report 2025 reported fiscal 2024 revenue of ¥3,550.1 billion, with Japan accounting for 70.8% of revenue. Its Hardware Solutions segment includes network products such as mobile systems, photonics systems, and IP network equipment.

Fujitsu is sharpening its network business around global competitiveness. The company established 1FINITY Inc. in July 2025 to consolidate R&D, manufacturing, sales, and maintenance functions of its network products business. Fujitsu also noted in its integrated report that, in collaboration with AT&T and Ericsson, it successfully verified OpenRAN calling using 1FINITY's Radio Unit in August 2025. Its Rakuten partnership further strengthens its role in compact, lightweight, energy-efficient O-RAN radio units.

NEC Corporation
NEC is positioned around telecom software, network infrastructure, RIC, vRAN, and systems integration. NEC's Integrated Report 2025 reported revenue of ¥3,423.4 billion, with Social Infrastructure accounting for 24.3% of revenue. The company's telecom services business includes core network, mobile phone base stations, optical transmission systems, and software and services for telecom operators, including OSS and BSS.

NEC's O-RAN relevance is strongest in the software shift. The company says the telecom industry is moving from dedicated hardware to software running on general-purpose servers, and NEC is developing software for virtualized base stations. NEC also says its network infrastructure deployment solution can reduce by approximately 60% the total workload required to build mobile infrastructure from RAN to core compared with conventional methods. Its Near-RT RIC development adds a second growth angle: autonomous, software-controlled RAN optimization for 5G-Advanced and Beyond 5G.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung brings scale, radio hardware, vRAN software, private-network capabilities, semiconductor depth, and global operator relationships to the O-RAN market. Samsung reported KRW 333.6 trillion in annual revenue and KRW 43.6 trillion in operating profit for full-year 2025, with record R&D investment of KRW 37.7 trillion.

Samsung's Open RAN profile is built around commercial vRAN and O-RAN deployments with major operators. In October 2025, Samsung was selected by Vodafone to provide virtualized RAN and Open RAN solutions across Europe. Samsung said its solution supports wide-scale Open RAN adoption in shared-network environments while helping reduce hardware costs and lower energy consumption. The company also positions its broader network portfolio across purpose-built RAN, vRAN, Open RAN, core, private networks, and AI-powered automation tools.

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Analyst Views

The O-RAN market is entering a more serious phase. The strongest buyer message is no longer "open networks are good." It is: open networks can reduce supplier concentration, support cloud-native operations, prepare for 5G-Advanced, improve energy efficiency, and create a programmable platform for AI-native telecom services.

The biggest lead-generation opportunities sit with operators that are modernizing RAN, governments focused on trusted telecom infrastructure, enterprises building private 5G networks, and systems integrators that can turn multivendor complexity into repeatable deployment packages. The strongest commercial language should focus on vendor diversification, interoperability assurance, RIC-driven automation, power savings, supply-chain resilience, lifecycle services, and cloud-native economics.

The competitive landscape includes Mavenir, NEC Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, Nokia Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Radisys Corporation, Parallel Wireless, ZTE Corporation, AT&T Inc., and Casa Systems, Inc. The winners will not necessarily be the companies with the broadest component catalog. They will be the companies that can prove performance, manage upgrades, certify interoperability, assign accountability, and help operators monetize programmable networks.

The projected rise from US$2.92 billion in 2024 to US$45.70 billion by 2032 should therefore be read as more than a radio equipment forecast. It is a sign that the RAN is becoming software-defined, cloud-operated, energy-aware, and commercially open. O-RAN's next stage will be won by companies that make openness deployable at scale.

Contact:
Fabian
DataM Intelligence 4market Research LLP
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Email: fabian@datamintelligence.com

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