Open RAN, Cloud RAN, and Multi-vendor RAN Set to Follow Diverging Paths, According to Dell'Oro Group

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a recently published report by Dell'Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, security, networks, and data center industries, Open RAN is entering a new phase. While Open Fronthaul adoption continues to gain momentum, Cloud RAN and multi-vendor RAN are following increasingly distinct trajectories, reflecting differences in technology readiness, deployment economics, and operator priorities.

"Open RAN is increasingly becoming a story about interface standardization rather than supplier diversification," said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President of RAN Market Research at Dell'Oro Group. "Open Fronthaul is well positioned to become the preferred interface among the major non-Chinese RAN suppliers, even though most deployments will continue to use radios and basebands from the same vendor. At the same time, Cloud RAN adoption will increasingly depend on the economics of merchant compute and accelerators relative to purpose-built RAN platforms."

Additional highlights from the August 2026 Open RAN Report:

• Long-term Open RAN outlook remains largely unchanged. Open Fronthaul continues to gain traction and is expected to become the preferred interface across next-generation RAN platforms, although near-term adoption has progressed more gradually than previously anticipated.
  
  
  
  
• Cloud RAN forecast revised downward. Virtualization remains an important part of the long-term RAN roadmap, but adoption will increasingly be determined by deployment economics, silicon innovation, and architecture choices rather than being the default with the 6G upgrade cycle.
  
  
  
  
• Multi-vendor RAN outlook remains subdued. Broader adoption of Open Fronthaul is not expected to significantly alter RAN supplier concentration, as most deployments will continue to use radios and basebands from the same supplier.
  
  
  
  
• Expanded market coverage. This edition adds quarterly Open RAN and Virtualized RAN vendor market share tracking alongside updated long-term forecasts.

About the Report

The Dell'Oro Group Open RAN Advanced Research Report offers a 5-year forecast for various Open RAN, Virtualized RAN, and Cloud RAN segments, including multi-vendor & single-vendor Open RAN, purpose-built RAN, and proprietary RAN. The report also includes regional projections and quarterly vendor data for Open RAN and Virtualized RAN. To purchase this report, please contact us by email at dgsales@delloro.com.

About Dell'Oro Group

Dell'Oro Group is a market research firm that specializes in strategic competitive analysis in the telecommunications, security, networks, and data center markets. Our firm provides in-depth quantitative data and qualitative analysis to facilitate critical, fact-based business decisions. For more information, contact Dell'Oro Group at +1.650.622.9400 or visit www.delloro.com.

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SOURCE Dell'Oro Group