Radio Access Network (RAN) Intelligent Controller Market Report 2025

This report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market’s historic and forecast market growth by geography.

The radio access network (RAN) intelligent controller market size has grown exponentially in recent years. It will grow from $0.24 billion in 2024 to $0.39 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 61.8%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to 5g network rollout, increasing mobile data traffic, network virtualization, dynamic spectrum allocation, capacity planning and optimization.

The radio access network (RAN) intelligent controller market size is expected to see exponential growth in the next few years. It will grow to $2.23 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 54.2%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to network slicing for 5g services, ai and machine learning integration, open ran deployments, massive iot connectivity, advanced network synchronization. Major trends in the forecast period include open ran architecture adoption, network slicing implementation, edge computing integration, automation and orchestration, cloud-native architectures.

The surge in the telecommunications sector is expected to be a driving force behind the growth of the RAN intelligent controller market. The telecommunications sector involves the transmission of information over significant distances through electronic means. RAN (Radio Access Network) intelligent controllers play a crucial role in this sector by enhancing network performance, facilitating the transition to advanced technologies such as 5G, and improving overall user experience. For example, in October 2023, as reported by the UK-based telecommunications recruitment agency First Point Group, the UK telecoms market witnessed growth, with revenue reaching £31.8 billion ($34.84 billion) over the last 12 months of 2022, indicating an increase compared to 2021. Therefore, the upward trajectory in the telecommunications sector is a key driver for the RAN intelligent controller market.

The increase in network traffic is another factor propelling the growth of the RAN intelligent controller market. Network traffic refers to the flow and movement of data, such as messages, files, and communications, across a network system at any given time. RAN intelligent controllers contribute to optimizing network traffic by dynamically managing and allocating radio resources, thereby enhancing efficiency and performance in mobile networks. As an illustration, a report published by Ericsson, a Sweden-based networking and telecommunications company, in February 2023 revealed a 40% surge in mobile network data traffic from Q4 2021 to Q4 2022, totaling 118 exabytes (EB) each month. Additionally, mobile network data traffic experienced a 10% quarter-on-quarter growth between Q3 2022 and Q4 2022. Consequently, the increase in network traffic is expected to drive the growth of the RAN intelligent controller market.

Leading companies in the RAN intelligent controller market are actively concentrating on the development of innovative next-gen solutions, particularly network intelligence solutions, to boost network performance and gain a competitive advantage. A network intelligence solution refers to a technology that provides advanced insights and optimization capabilities for the efficient management and enhancement of communication networks. For instance, in February 2023, Mavenir, a telecommunications software company based in the US, introduced its Open RAN Intelligent Controller (O-RIC), a next-gen network intelligence solution designed for Open RAN. O-RIC facilitates differentiated services through open APIs, optimizing network performance and improving the user experience. It offers Network Intelligence as a Service (NIaaS) with deep insights for advanced solutions and has been deployed with two tier-one CSPs. Mavenir's O-RIC surpasses traditional self-organizing network (SON) models by incorporating non-real-time (Non-RT) and near-real-time (Near-RT) control loops, providing intent-based decisions for business outcomes.

In June 2022, Qualcomm, a US tech company specializing in semiconductors, software, and other solutions for mobile devices and wireless technology, completed the acquisition of Cellwize for $350 million. This acquisition is expected to strengthen Qualcomm's position in the 5G market and facilitate the acceleration of Open RAN (Radio Access Network) technology adoption. Cellwize Wireless Technologies Pte. Ltd., based in Israel, specializes in radio access network (RAN) automation and optimization solutions.

Major companies operating in the radio access network (ran) intelligent controller market report are Samsung Electronics Co Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co Ltd., Cisco Systems Inc., Intel Corporation, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., Ericsson, Nokia Corporation, NEC Corporation, ZTE Corporation, VMware Inc., CommScope Holding Company Inc., Juniper Networks Inc., Ciena Corporation, Mavenir Systems Inc., VIAVI SOLUTIONS INC., Xilinx Inc., STERLITE TECHNOLOGIES (STL), Radisys Corporation, Parallel Wireless Inc., Airspan Networks Inc., Baicells Technologies Co Ltd., Pivotal Commware Inc., ACCELLERAN, Blue Danube Systems Inc., Siradel, Redline Communications Inc., ASOCS Ltd., Quortus Ltd., Lemko Corporation, Amarisoft.

North America was the largest region in the radio access network (RAN) intelligent controller market in 2024. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the radio access network (ran) intelligent controller market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the RAN intelligent controller market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The RAN intelligent controller market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing IT services such as RAN consulting and professional services. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The RAN intelligent controller market also includes the sales of distributed RIC, centralized RIC, and open-source RIC. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The Radio Access Network (RAN) Intelligent Controller is a software-defined element found in modern telecommunications networks, particularly within the realm of 5G technology. It acts as a regulated investment company (RIC), enabling real-time and dynamic optimization of radio access networks (RANs).

The key components of the RAN Intelligent Controller include the platform and services. The platform in the RAN Intelligent Controller serves as the foundational framework that facilitates the orchestration, management, and operation of RAN functionalities and services. These functionalities are categorized into 4G and 5G variants based on technology. The RAN Intelligent Controller performs functions such as Non-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controllers (Non-RT RIC) and Near-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controllers (Near-RT RIC), which find applications in technologies such as rApps and xApps.

The Radio Access Network (RAN) intelligent controller market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides Radio Access Network (RAN) intelligent controller market statistics, including Radio Access Network (RAN) intelligent controller industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with an Radio Access Network (RAN) intelligent controller market share, detailed Radio Access Network (RAN) intelligent controller market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the Radio Access Network (RAN) intelligent controller industry. This Radio Access Network (RAN) intelligent controller 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 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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