According to the latest report from research firm Dell'Oro Group, the adoption of AI in radio access networks (RAN) is accelerating, positioning AI-RAN as one of the telecommunications industry's most significant growth areas. Dell'Oro forecasts that cumulative AI-RAN revenue will reach US$35 billion over the next five years. The firm also raised its outlook for the GPU RAN segment, projecting that the market will exceed US$1 billion by the end of 2030.
However, Stefan Pongratz, Vice President at Dell'Oro Group, noted that while AI-RAN adoption is progressing rapidly, its primary value lies in improving network efficiency and transforming operational models rather than creating new demand. As a result, AI-RAN is not expected to expand the overall RAN market or significantly alter telecom operators' long-term revenue growth trajectory. Even as equipment vendors introduce AI-related software subscription services, the additional revenue generated by AI-RAN is expected to remain relatively modest through 2030.
On the technology front, Dell'Oro believes AI-RAN will become a critical enabling technology during the later stages of the 5G era and will be fully integrated into 6G networks from the outset. The adoption of AI is expected to transform RAN architecture from a traditional connectivity layer focused on performance and spectral efficiency into an adaptive platform capable of intelligent automation, virtualization, and differentiated service delivery, providing a foundational platform for future intelligent networks.
In terms of near-term market development, Dell'Oro expects initial AI-RAN deployments to focus primarily on AI-for-RAN applications, where AI is used to optimize the performance of existing RAN infrastructure rather than deploying fully AI-native RAN architectures. Early adoption is expected to center on single-purpose use cases, non-GPU architectures, distributed RAN (D-RAN) deployments, and 5G networks. As technologies mature and business models evolve, AI-RAN is expected to expand into a broader range of deployment scenarios.
Dell'Oro also noted that the early phase of AI-RAN deployment will largely involve upgrading existing network infrastructure rather than replacing it entirely, allowing incumbent RAN equipment vendors to maintain their competitive advantage. According to the firm's estimates, Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE, and Samsung together accounted for approximately 96% of global RAN market revenue in 2025, and these five vendors are expected to remain the dominant players in shaping the AI-RAN market and driving its technological evolution during the initial stages of deployment.