5G Core Market Report 2026

The 5G core market size has grown exponentially in recent years. It will grow from $10.52 billion in 2025 to $18.68 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 77.7%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to growth in mobile data traffic, expansion of LTE infrastructure, increasing smartphone penetration, demand for low latency connectivity, telecom network modernization initiatives.

The 5G core market size is expected to see exponential growth in the next few years. It will grow to $185.88 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 77.6%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to global rollout of 5G networks, rising adoption of private 5G, growth of IoT connectivity, increasing demand for ultra reliable low latency services, expansion of cloud based telecom platforms. Major trends in the forecast period include cloud native core network deployment, network slicing implementation, virtualized network functions expansion, edge integrated core architectures, service based network architecture adoption.

The surge in data traffic is anticipated to drive the growth of the 5G core market in the coming years. Data traffic, also known as network traffic, refers to the amount of data transmitted across a network at a specific point in time. Leveraging the 5G Core for managing data traffic provides several advantages, including improved network performance, service exposure, and traffic steering capabilities. These features offer additional tools to optimize traffic management and ensure efficient handling of data. For example, a report by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, a Sweden-based IT services provider, indicated that global mobile data traffic reached approximately 90 EB per month in 2022 and is projected to nearly quadruple to 325 EB per month by 2028. As a result, the rising volume of data traffic underscores the need for increased adoption of the 5G core.

Leading companies in the 5G core market are focusing on developing innovative solutions such as core network-as-a-service (CNaaS) to improve deployment flexibility and cost efficiency. Core network-as-a-service is a cloud-based model in which the operator delivers a fully managed, scalable 5G core infrastructure on demand, rather than building and hosting it internally, thereby reducing upfront investment and speeding up deployment. For instance, in March 2025, Orange S.A, a France-based telecommunications provider, introduced its 5G CNaaS solution, offering a fully managed, cloud-based 5G core infrastructure that enables mobile operators of any size to deploy 5G standalone (SA) networks more quickly and cost-effectively. The solution’s key features include simplified deployment that eliminates the need for operators to maintain their own core network, a pay-as-you-grow model allowing service scaling according to demand without minimum size requirements, comprehensive management with Orange handling updates and security compliance, and inclusion of essential services such as IPX connectivity for data integrity and roaming, real-time signaling for SS7/LTE/5G SA traffic visibility, global coverage and roaming services, and value-added big data analytics for network optimization.

In February 2023, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), a US-based IT services leader, acquired Athonet srl, an Italy-based telecommunication service provider. This acquisition enables HPE to provide private networking capabilities directly to enterprises as part of its Aruba networking portfolio. Moreover, it empowers communications service providers to swiftly establish private 5G networks for their clients, showcasing the industry's dynamic response to evolving technological landscapes.

Major companies operating in the 5g core market are Nokia Corporation; Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson; Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.; Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.; ZTE Corporation; NEC Corporation; Cisco Systems Inc.; Oracle Corporation; Mavenir Systems Inc.; Druid Software Ltd.; Athonet; IPLOOK Technologies; Casa Systems Inc.; NetNumber Inc.; Cumucore; VMware Inc.; Fujitsu Limited; Ribbon Communications Inc.; Parallel Wireless Pvt. Ltd.; Datang Telecom Group.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the 5G core market in 2025. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the global 5G core market report during the forecast period. The regions covered in the 5G core market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the 5G core market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

Tariffs have impacted the 5G core market by increasing costs of imported telecom hardware, servers, and networking equipment. These effects are most evident in large scale deployments by telecom operators in Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America. Higher capital expenditure has delayed some network expansion projects. However, tariffs are encouraging adoption of software driven and cloud native core solutions. This transition is strengthening domestic telecom ecosystems and accelerating virtualization across 5G core deployments.

The 5G core market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides 5G core market statistics, including 5G core industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a 5G core market share, detailed 5G core market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the 5G core industry. This 5G core market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.

The 5G core functions as the central element of the 5G network, responsible for overseeing data management and controlling plane activities. Its role is to ensure secure and reliable network connectivity for end-users, enabling their access to network services.

The primary components of 5G core, comprising solutions and services. In the realm of network operations, services refer to applications or functions that aid in establishing connections among users, applications, and data within the network. The diverse solutions encompass professional services and managed services, deployed both over the cloud and on-premise. Telecom operators and enterprises utilize various network functions, such as AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, NEF, UDM, AUSF, AF, and NSSF. These functions play a crucial role in supporting the operations of the 5G core.

The 5G core market includes revenues earned by entities through services such as service-based architecture and cloud-based architecture. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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