Huawei overtakes Nokia outside China as Open RAN stalls

According to Omdia’s latest update about the radio access network (RAN) market, Huawei has overtaken Nokia to become the second-biggest RAN vendor outside China in Q2 2025, with Ericsson still leading globally. Despite years of US-led sanctions and bans, Huawei’s network business remains resilient, while Nokia and Ericsson face slowing momentum.

Huawei continues to dominate Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, while it holds third place in Europe and is absent from North America. Analysts say the shift comes from Huawei’s strong position in emerging markets, seasonal revenue factors, and telcos’ reluctance to drop Huawei due to its technical lead in 5G, massive MIMO, and gallium nitride power amplifiers.

Meanwhile, Open RAN’s original vision of diversifying telecom suppliers has faltered. US-backed vendors like Mavenir have scaled back, and market concentration is rising. By 2029, multivendor RAN is expected to represent less than 10% of the market, meaning telcos still depend heavily on Huawei, Ericsson, and Nokia.

Despite political pressure, Huawei’s network division remains financially and technologically strong, while Nokia risks losing further ground if the new leadership keeps steering the company closer to US interests instead of strengthening its own competitive edge.

 

Source Light Reading