Dell'Oro: 5G Core Vendor Revenues up 31% in Q2
New Dell’Oro research found signs of life in the 5G stand-alone (SA) market, with revenues from 5G core vendors up 31% in Q2 over the year-earlier quarter. The wireless industry has been “bemoaning the slow uptake of 5G SA networks” by mobile network operators (MNOs), Dell’Oro Research Director Dave Bolan blogged this week. “After all, we are in the sixth year of the 5G SA era, and with over 700 MNOs in the world, it is surprising that more 5G SA networks have not launched.”
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Dell’Oro counts 71 carriers worldwide with SA 5G. The busiest year for launches was 2020, with 19, compared with 12 last year and five so far in 2025, the firm reported. The two in the U.S. are T-Mobile and Boost Mobile.
Only 14% of the world’s mobile subscribers had 5G SA services at the end of 2024, Bolan wrote. “The conclusion one can draw from this is a low penetration rate.” Chinese MNOs “have been very aggressive in building out 5G SA coverage, and China Mobile, as an example, has achieved 60% 5G SA subscriber penetration after their launch in 2020,” he said. Even so, China Mobile still has many customers who haven’t migrated to the latest technology, he added.