Hampshire, UK – 22nd June 2026: A new study by global tech strategists Juniper Research has ranked Ericsson as the leading RAN vendor in 2026, closely followed by Nokia and Huawei.
Ericsson’s top ranking is driven by its innovative contributions to the O-RAN Alliance, alongside the increasing energy efficiency and performance of its AI-RAN solutions.
AI-RAN, and the potential it promises, has added a new dimension to the RAN market – leading to new ecosystem players and strategic considerations for operators.
“AI-RAN is the next major growth engine in the RAN market, but the extra funding needed to adopt and scale AI-RAN will lead to operators initially deploying it to improve operational efficiencies on their networks and reduce the total cost of ownership,” explained Ardit Ballhysa, Senior Research Analyst at Juniper Research.
Find out more, and download a sample pack for the RAN Vendors Competitor Leaderboard 2026 from our website now.
The Importance of Platforms
The report identified that despite the market consolidating, with Mavenir exiting RAN hardware and NEC winding down its RAN ambitions, startup SynaXG has emerged as an entirely cloud-native AI-RAN vendor. SynaXG’s entry into the market exemplifies the importance operators are placing on RAN vendors’ platforms and software offerings.
While RAN vendors continue to differentiate their services through hardware offerings such as radio performance, massive MIMO, and spectral efficiency, greater emphasis is being placed on differentiating through platforms. This is because as networks become more software-driven, operators are relying more on vendors that can offer various solutions to meet their demands, such as cloud-native architecture, AI-enabled optimisation, and lifecycle management, through platforms such as Cloud RAN and AI-RAN.
The new Competitor Leaderboard offers the most comprehensive assessment of the leading RAN vendors to date; analysing each of their offerings, the extent and value of their partnerships, and their key strengths. The study provides tailored strategic recommendations for each vendor. Each vendor profile offers insight into the company’s strategy and RAN portfolio; highlighting their standout products and solutions.
About Juniper Research
Juniper Research is a global tech strategist firm providing research, data, and forecasting across the fintech, telecoms, and IoT sectors. For over 20 years, Juniper Research has delivered actionable insights; helping industry leaders navigate disruption, seize opportunities, and make confident strategic decisions. www.juniperresearch.com
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Sam Smith, Press Relations
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