Dell’Oro Group predicted small cell RAN revenue would surpass $5 billion in 2022, after the figure grew 15 per cent year-on-year in Q1 despite operators intensifying macro 5G network rollouts

VP Stefan Pongratz told Mobile World Live small cells accounted for around 10 per cent of the broader RAN market in the opening three months and predicted continued growth across the rest of 2022.

Pongratz noted there was a shrinking gap between macro and small cell deployments, “especially with upper mid-band 5G.”

He said 5G was driving more than half of the overall small cell market.

Small cell LTE revenue fell in the first quarter while the company stated private 5G investments were “still negligible”.

Dell’Oro Group ranked Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE and Samsung as the top suppliers in the first quarter.