The global mobile core network (MCN) market experienced substantial growth in 2025, propelled by increased revenues across various segments, including 4G, 5G, and the voice core. According to a report by Dell’Oro Group, revenues grew by 15% year-over-year, marking the highest annual growth rate since 2014.
Noteworthy in 2025 was that the 5G MCN market accounted for half of the total market revenues for the first time. Dell’Oro’s research director, Dave Bolan, highlighted that every market segment contributed to these gains, with 4G MCN growth centered in the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA) and Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) regions. The 5G MCN and voice core segments flourished globally, particularly in the Asia Pacific and EMEA regions.
Significantly, Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) emerged as the fastest-growing market subsegment, finding strong deployment in China. MEC and AI innovations are expected to shape the industry’s future. Standards bodies, vendors, and operators are collaborating to expand the 5G ecosystem, integrating features like RedCap radios to minimize IoT costs, network slicing to cater to mission-critical applications, and Open APIs to facilitate service scaling across multiple operators.
During an interview with RCR Wireless News, Bolan pointed out that Dell’Oro anticipates the 5G MCN will solidify its leading position in the market this year, although growth rates may not match the peaks of 2025. Regardless, the future for 5G MCN appears robust for the coming years.
Agentic AI is predicted to impact network capacity and user engagement. This evolution could increase core network demands and create new monetization possibilities. Bolan shared, “We believe agentic AI will have an impact on the core network requiring more capacity over the next three to five years. The size of impact is still to be determined.”
In summary, while record-setting growth might not persist indefinitely, the Dell’Oro Group report emphasizes the promising future of the 5G MCN market, with underlying technological advances and collaborations driving continued progress.
