5G core investment overtakes LTE for the first time, driven by the spread of SA

With 5G SA adoption and rising AI traffic, investment in 5G mobile core networks reached half of the total market last year, matching LTE core spending.

Investment in LTE core and 5G NSA core is now declining, while operator demand is shifting toward 5G SA core and MEC.

Dell’Oro also raised its outlook for the mobile core market, reflecting stronger 5G SA rollout.

The shift is set to accelerate infrastructure for network slicing, low-latency AI services, VoNR, and IoT.