After two consecutive years of declining telecom equipment investments, the pendulum is beginning to shift. Preliminary findings indicate that aggregate worldwide telecom equipment revenues across the six programs tracked by Dell’Oro Group — Broadband Access, Microwave & Optical Transport, Mobile Core Network (MCN), Radio Access Network (RAN), and Service Provider Router & Switch — increased by 4% year over year (Y/Y) in 1H25. The improved market conditions were driven by several factors, including easier year-over-year comparisons, inventory stabilization, and favorable currency movements.
Market conditions improved markedly outside of China, with revenues increasing 8% Y/Y in the first half. The recovery was broad-based across all telecom programs; however, it is worth noting that MCN, Optical Transport, and SP Router & Switch led the gains.
Global supplier rankings remained largely unchanged, though revenue shares shifted modestly as Huawei continued to gain ground, while Ericsson and Nokia saw slight declines compared with 2024 levels.
The short-term outlook has been revised slightly upward. The analyst team now expects global telecom equipment revenues across the six programs to grow 2% to 3% in 2025, compared with a flat outlook in the 2024 update.