The top fifty carriers in the world collectively generated combined annual revenue and investments of well around $1.7 T this past year. Our Telecom Capex bi-annual reports track the revenue and capital expenditure (capex) trends for these fifty-plus carriers. We estimate that these carriers account for roughly 80% of worldwide capex and revenue.
We believe carrier revenue and capex trends can to some degree explain telecom equipment manufacturer revenue trends. The highly granular information provided in this report will enable carriers, system and component vendors, equity researchers, and regulatory bodies to assess growth opportunities and to observe performance practices in the telecom sector.
The report reveals the answers to key business questions such as:
What is the relationship between capex and telecom equipment manufacturer revenue trends?
What is the relationship between telecom capex and revenue?
Which regions are investing most heavily in capex and what are the technologies driving this investment?
What is the performance on a revenue basis of key global carriers?
How have the top five carriers investment levels changed over time?
How fast are revenues for wireless versus wireline investments changing?
What will drive revenue and capex investments?
To answer these and other important questions, Dell’Oro Group delivers bi-annual reports revealing telecom capex data.
Telecom Capex Bi-Annual Reports
Dell’Oro Group publishes Telecom Capex bi-annual reports providing in-depth coverage of carriers’ revenue, capital expenditure, and capital intensity trends.
The report includes tables detailing actual and forecast information:
By selected carriers
By region—North America, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), Asia Pacific, CALA (Caribbean and Latin America)
By country—United States, Canada, China, India, Japan, and South Korea
Worldwide Telecom Capex to Decline at a 2 percent CAGR
According to Dell’Oro Group
Capital Intensity to Reach 14 percent by 2027
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.
According to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, security, networks, and data center industries, telecom operators scaled back wireless and wireline investments in 2024. The high-level relationship between carrier revenues, capex, and telecom equipment was mostly stable, as both telecom capex and telecom equipment revenues tanked in 2024. Preliminary findings show that worldwide telecom capex, the sum of wireless and wireline/other telecom carrier investments, declined 8 percent in 2024 (telecom equipment manufacturing revenues for the six programs tracked at the Dell’Oro Group declined 11 percent over the same period).
“With some of the larger fiber and 5G builds now in the past, the different risk profiles across the carrier spectrum become more pronounced,” said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President of RAN and Telecom Capex research at Dell’Oro Group. “While some operators prefer a more growth-oriented approach and consider elevated capital intensity levels as essential to gain a competitive edge and be better prepared for the next technology transition, the majority of the operators believe the pie is mostly fixed and focusing on efficiency improvements is considered less risky to this group,” continued Pongratz.
Additional highlights from the April 2025 Telecom Capex report:
Investment conditions are expected to stabilize in 2025, though it will still be a challenging year from a capex and telecom equipment revenue perspective.
The near-term investment outlook is less favorable – carrier capex is expected to decline at a 2 percent CAGR over the next 3 years.
With carrier revenues on track to advance slightly (+1 percent CAGR), capex/revenue is projected to approach 14 percent in 2027, down from 16 percent in 2024.
Wireless capital intensity is projected to approach 12 to 13 percent in 2027, down five to six percentage points since the 5G peak.
About the Report
The Dell’Oro Group Telecom Capex Report provides in-depth coverage of more than 50 telecom operators highlighting carrier revenue, capital expenditure, and capital intensity trends. The report provides actual and 3-year forecast details by carrier, by region by country (United States, Canada, China, India, Japan, and South Korea), and by technology (wireless/wireline).
