Core Network Equipment Market Report 2026

Core Network Equipment Market Overview

• Core Network Equipment market size has reached to $26.44 billion in 2025 • Expected to grow to $28.27 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% • Growth Driver: Rising Demand For High-speed Data Transmission Is Fueling The Growth Of The Market Due To Expanding Digital Services And Increasing Need For Scalable Network Infrastructure • Market Trend: Technological Advancement In 5G Core Network Technologies Enhances Network Scalability And Ultra-Low Latency Performance • North America was the largest region in 2025 and Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region.

What Is Covered Under Core Network Equipment Market?

Core network equipment refers to the hardware and software systems that form the central backbone of communication networks, managing functions such as data routing, switching, subscriber authentication, traffic control, and service delivery across mobile, fixed, and IP networks. Its purpose is to ensure secure, reliable, and high-speed connectivity while enabling seamless communication between users, devices, and external networks. The main components of the core network equipment include hardware, software, and services. Hardware refers to the physical networking equipment and infrastructure used to support core network operations. The key deployment models include on-premise, cloud-native, and hybrid, and the key enterprise sizes include small and medium enterprises and large enterprises. The applications span broadband aggregation, mobile backhaul, data center interconnect (DCI), cloud connectivity, voice and video services, and enterprise virtual private network (VPN) services, and the key end users include telecommunications service providers, internet service providers (ISPs), managed service providers, cloud and content providers, and enterprises.

What Is The Core Network Equipment Market Growth Forecast?

The core network equipment market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $37.29 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to cloud-native core network migration acceleration, increased 5g standalone core deployments, rising adoption of network automation and orchestration platforms, expansion of edge-core convergence architecture, growing demand for ultra-low latency and high-capacity connectivity. Major trends in the forecast period include virtualized network functions (vnf) adoption in core networks, software defined networking (sdn) driven centralized control of traffic flows, cloud-native telecom core transformation using containerized architectures, network slicing enabled differentiated service delivery for 5g and beyond, subscriber authentication and policy management modernization for secure connectivity.

What Is The Driver Of The Core Network Equipment Market?

The rising demand for high-speed data transmission is expected to propel the growth of the core network equipment market going forward. High-speed data transmission refers to the rapid transfer of large volumes of data across communication networks with minimal latency and high reliability. The demand for high-speed data transmission is rising due to the rapid growth of data-intensive digital services, which require faster and more reliable data transfer to ensure seamless performance and low latency. Core network equipment supports high-speed data transmission by enabling efficient data routing, network scalability, and enhanced bandwidth management across telecom infrastructures. For instance, in May 2025, according to the Federal Communications Commission, a US-based government agency, as of December 2024, approximately 110 million homes and small businesses, representing 95% coverage, had access to terrestrial fixed broadband services offering speeds of 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload or higher, reflecting an increase of nearly one million locations compared with June 2024. Therefore, the rising demand for high-speed data transmission is driving the growth of the core network equipment industry.

Key Players In The Global Core Network Equipment Market

Major companies operating in the core network equipment market are Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., International Business Machines Corporation, Cisco Systems Inc., Oracle Corporation, Broadcom Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, Fujitsu Limited, Ericsson AB, NEC Corporation, Nokia Corporation, ZTE Corporation, Arista Networks Inc., FiberHome Telecommunication Technologies Co. Ltd., Ciena Corporation, F5 Inc., Ubiquiti Inc., Extreme Networks Inc., Viavi Solutions Inc., Calix Inc., NetScout Systems Inc., Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited, Aviat Networks Inc., Ceragon Networks Ltd., Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd.

Global Core Network Equipment Market Trends and Insights

Major companies operating in the core network equipment market are focusing on technological advancement in 5G core network technologies, such as cloud-native standalone (SA) core architectures with service-based interfaces, to improve network scalability, enable ultra-low latency communication, and support advanced use cases like network slicing and edge computing. Cloud-native standalone core architectures with service-based interfaces refer to next-generation core network frameworks that decompose network functions into microservices, allowing dynamic orchestration, containerized deployment, and real-time communication between network functions via APIs for improved flexibility and performance. For instance, in May 2024, Ericsson, a Sweden-based telecommunications company, partnered with XL Axiata, an Indonesia-based mobile telecommunications services operator, to launch its dual-mode 5G Core solution, which enables full cloud-native deployment with containerized network functions, features built-in network slicing capabilities for differentiated service delivery, and supports service-based architecture (SBA) with API-driven communication to enhance scalability and interoperability across telecom networks.

What Are Latest Mergers And Acquisitions In The Core Network Equipment Market?

In June 2023, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a US-based provider of edge-to-cloud enterprise solutions, acquired Athonet for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, Hewlett Packard Enterprise aims to enhance its 5G core network portfolio by integrating Athonet’s mobile core technology, enabling deployment of cloud-native and private core network solutions. Athonet is an Italy-based provider of mobile core network software designed for private LTE and 5G core network deployments across industries.

What Defines the Core Network Equipment Market?

The core network equipment market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing services such as network design and integration, installation and deployment, managed network services, maintenance and technical support, software upgrades, network optimization, cybersecurity services, consulting, cloud migration support, and training services. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The core network equipment market also includes sales of servers, processors, switching equipment, and network infrastructure systems. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is, the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

How is Market Value Defined and Measured?

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified). The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

What Key Data and Analysis Are Included in the Core Network Equipment Market Report 2026?

The core network equipment market research report is one of a series of new reports from The Business Research Company that provides market statistics, including industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with the market share, detailed market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the core network equipment industry. The market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future state of the industry.