MTN Consulting is focused on network operators & their technology supply chains, tracking the economics of the network operator business and assessing the big shifts that impact technology spending trends. Our coverage includes:
3 major network operator markets
- Telecom Network Operator (TNO)
- Webscale Network Operator (WNO)
- Carrier-Neutral Network Operator (CNNO)
190+ operators
Across the three major network operator markets in all key regions
40+ time series
10+ years’ market- and operator-wise data across quarters and years starting 2011
~50 reports published per year
- Market data and insight reports spanning –
- quarterly market reviews
- operator and vendor deep dives
- benchmarking and strategic assessments
- forecast/outlook analysis

Latest report
Telecom’s biggest vendors, 4Q24: Vendor market upturn breaks nine-quarter decline
The goal of this report series is to equip telecom industry decision-makers with a comprehensive view of spending trends and vendor market power in their industry. To do this we assess technology vendors' revenues in the telecom vertical, across a wide range of company types and technology segments. We call this market "telco network infrastructure", or "Telco NI." This study tracks 137 Telco NI vendors, providing revenue and market share estimates for the 1Q13-4Q24 period. Of these 137 vendors, 111 are actively selling to telcos; most others have been acquired by other companies in the database. For instance, ADVA is now part of Adtran, but both companies remain in the database because of historic sales. Below are the key highlights of the report: Revenues: Telco NI vendor revenues were $57.6B in 4Q24 and $206.9B for the 2024 year overall, up 2.2% and down 3.0% on a YoY basis, respectively. Huawei, which lifted the market in the first half of 2024, slipped slightly in the latest quarter while the broader market rebounded. The total market contracted 3.0% YoY in the annualized 4Q24, a modest improvement compared to a 3.7% decline excluding Huawei. Top vendors: The top three Telco NI vendors remain the usual trio: Huawei, Ericsson, and Nokia. They account for 36.7% of the total market in annualized 4Q24, or 39.9% in 4Q24 alone. China Comservice and ZTE have been jostling for the 4th and 5th positions since early 2019. Key vendors by YoY revenue growth: The top two vendors, in terms of YoY revenue growth, are common to both single quarter and annualized 4Q24: Tejas Networks and Dixon Technologies. Their growth drivers were distinct: Tejas benefited from BSNL’s large-scale 4G rollout in India, while Dixon surged from a low year-ago base. A key milestone for Dixon was its 2Q24 partnership with Nokia to jointly develop and manufacture telecom equipment, including fixed wireless access points and routers. Spending outlook: Per our latest official forecast, we expect telco capex - the main driver of the Telco NI market - to dip from $314B in 2023 to just below $300B in 2024. Capex will struggle to see any growth over the next few years, likely ending 2028 at ~$280B. The outlook for specific country markets varies. Note that this report was prepared before Trump’s early April tariff announcements. Stock markets have already plummeted, and most economists now expect a recession or worse to result from this unnecessary and counterproductive trade war. We will update our forecast outlook if warranted. Company coverage: starting with this 4Q24 edition, we have added three additional vendors to our coverage universe. They are all based in India: Cyient, Dixon Technologies, and HFCL.
Latest reports
- April 7, 2025 Telecom’s biggest vendors, 4Q24: Vendor market upturn breaks nine-quarter decline
- March 25, 2025 Greener networks: Telcos power up traffic efficiency
- March 20, 2025 Webscale Market Review, 4Q24: Annual capex breaks the $300B mark
- February 6, 2025 Vendor sustainability: Ciena leads the green charge among NEPs; chip, fiber, and Chinese vendors lag
- February 5, 2025 Telecom’s biggest vendors – 3Q24 edition


MTN Consulting is focused on network operators & their technology supply chains, tracking the economics of the network operator business and assessing the big shifts that impact technology spending trends. Our coverage includes:
- 3 major network operator markets
- 190+ operators
- 40+ time series
- 50 reports published per year
Latest report
Telecom’s biggest vendors, 4Q24: Vendor market upturn breaks nine-quarter decline
The goal of this report series is to equip telecom industry decision-makers with a comprehensive view of spending trends and vendor market power in their industry. To do this we assess technology vendors' revenues in the telecom vertical, across a wide range of company types and technology segments. We call this market "telco network infrastructure", or "Telco NI." This study tracks 137 Telco NI vendors, providing revenue and market share estimates for the 1Q13-4Q24 period. Of these 137 vendors, 111 are actively selling to telcos; most others have been acquired by other companies in the database. For instance, ADVA is now part of Adtran, but both companies remain in the database because of historic sales. Below are the key highlights of the report: Revenues: Telco NI vendor revenues were $57.6B in 4Q24 and $206.9B for the 2024 year overall, up 2.2% and down 3.0% on a YoY basis, respectively. Huawei, which lifted the market in the first half of 2024, slipped slightly in the latest quarter while the broader market rebounded. The total market contracted 3.0% YoY in the annualized 4Q24, a modest improvement compared to a 3.7% decline excluding Huawei. Top vendors: The top three Telco NI vendors remain the usual trio: Huawei, Ericsson, and Nokia. They account for 36.7% of the total market in annualized 4Q24, or 39.9% in 4Q24 alone. China Comservice and ZTE have been jostling for the 4th and 5th positions since early 2019. Key vendors by YoY revenue growth: The top two vendors, in terms of YoY revenue growth, are common to both single quarter and annualized 4Q24: Tejas Networks and Dixon Technologies. Their growth drivers were distinct: Tejas benefited from BSNL’s large-scale 4G rollout in India, while Dixon surged from a low year-ago base. A key milestone for Dixon was its 2Q24 partnership with Nokia to jointly develop and manufacture telecom equipment, including fixed wireless access points and routers. Spending outlook: Per our latest official forecast, we expect telco capex - the main driver of the Telco NI market - to dip from $314B in 2023 to just below $300B in 2024. Capex will struggle to see any growth over the next few years, likely ending 2028 at ~$280B. The outlook for specific country markets varies. Note that this report was prepared before Trump’s early April tariff announcements. Stock markets have already plummeted, and most economists now expect a recession or worse to result from this unnecessary and counterproductive trade war. We will update our forecast outlook if warranted. Company coverage: starting with this 4Q24 edition, we have added three additional vendors to our coverage universe. They are all based in India: Cyient, Dixon Technologies, and HFCL.
Latest reports
- April 7, 2025 Telecom’s biggest vendors, 4Q24: Vendor market upturn breaks nine-quarter decline
- March 25, 2025 Greener networks: Telcos power up traffic efficiency
- March 20, 2025 Webscale Market Review, 4Q24: Annual capex breaks the $300B mark
- February 6, 2025 Vendor sustainability: Ciena leads the green charge among NEPs; chip, fiber, and Chinese vendors lag
- February 5, 2025 Telecom’s biggest vendors – 3Q24 edition
In The Press
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April 2024
What lies ahead for India’s Vodafone Idea -
Our Three Core Offerings

Research
MTNC’s research is focused on communications network infrastructure, a market attracting $3.5 trillion in annual operator revenues. Our goal is to provide credible, holistic assessments of where the NI market currently stands and where it is headed. Reports address market and technology trends, key players, and country dynamics.
![2-1[1]](https://www.mtn-c.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2-11.webp)
Subscription
MTNC bundles its research into an annual subscription service called “Global Network Infrastructure”. GNI provides clients with an end-to-end view of the network operator business, assessing the big shifts that impact technology spending trends. GNI clients include technology vendors (chips, network equipment and software, IT services), operators, regulators, and investors.

Consulting
Our consulting services include: scenario planning; market sizing, forecasting, and analysis; organizational strategy; marketing support; competitive benchmarking; and, due diligence support for M&A and PE transactions. We bring experience and independence to the table, and access to the proprietary databases generated by our GNI subscription program.
In The Press
Southeast Asia emerging as the new battleground for cloud service providers
Fierce Network
Hyperscalers gain network infrastructure market share
Inform, TM Forum
Can CSPs realize opex reductions through AI?
Inform, TM Forum
What lies ahead for India’s Vodafone Idea
Fierce Network
SK Telecom’s enduring belief in metaverse spells hope for the technology
Fierce Network
BT confirms Starlink tests as it explores remote connectivity options
Fierce Network
Forecast on Telecoms Capex, Revenue and Business Models
Telecomlead
What does Qualcomm terminating its chip deal with Iridium mean for satellite telecom?
SDxCentral
ZTE stock slides on weaker earnings, falling revenue
LightReading
AT&T, Vodafone, AST hit a 5G satellite milestone
SDxCentral
Amazon, SpaceX extend reach with Vodafone, KDDI satellite deals
SDxCentral
Vodafone expands horizons with Amazon’s Project Kuiper
Fierce Network
Blogs

With each passing day, the 2G and 3G layers of telcos' mobile networks are looming as heavy loads on operating expenses (opex). That's due to multiple issues but especially energy consumption and related costs. With the exist
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Vendors continue to wrestle with supply chain constraints in the telecom sector. That's clear from several recent vendor earnings reports, including those issued by Dell, HPE, and Ciena in recent weeks. Telco spending, though
read more
Telco network spending has been on the rise over the last few quarters. Vendor sales of network infrastructure to the telco vertical ("Telco NI”) totaled $55.5B in 1Q22, up 5.7% YoY. On an annualized basis, Telco NI revenue
read more
Telco NI's top 3 Telcos buy products & services from dozens of different vendors. Our research tracks 130. Some are relatively easy to classify into a segment, e.g. Corning, a "cabling & connectivity" vendor in our
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It was the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who coined the phrase, “Change is the only constant in life.” Well over a thousand years later, Benjamin Franklin continued the thought, saying, “When you are finished changing
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One of the many telecom stats we track is "labor costs", i.e. what telcos spend in salaries and benefits to support their workforce. Not a lot of other analyst firms track labor costs, if any. It's not an easy one to track, a
read moreOur Research Bundles


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