After several years of declining capital intensity, telecom operators may be approaching a turning point in their investment cycle. Ari Lopes, Omdia practice leader for service provider markets, told RCR Wireless News that “we might have reached the bottom of this capex crunch, and operators may be starting allocating resources towards areas like AI and 5G-Advanced,” pointing to an early shift in how the industry is prioritizing future network investments.
That shift comes against a backdrop of steady—but still modest—industry growth. New data from Omdia shows global telecom connectivity revenues rose 4% in 2025 to $1.3 trillion, while quarterly revenues reached $333 billion in Q4, up 5% year-on-year. At the same time, total capex fell 2%, an improvement from the sharper 3.5% decline in 2024, suggesting investment levels may be stabilizing after the initial wave of 5G deployment.
5G adoption continues to accelerate, surpassing 3 billion global connections with 34% annual growth, though monetization remains uneven. “In the past seven years operators struggled to monetize 5G… however, with 5G SA and 5G-Advanced, there is a renewed commitment to find business models that will work better for operators,” Lopes said, pointing to emerging approaches such as premium service tiers, network slicing and new applications like real-time translation.
Still, the industry remains heavily reliant on core connectivity, pushing operators to look beyond traditional revenue streams. “The main bets are on the B2B segment… in IT areas like cybersecurity, cloud, managed services,” Lopes added, highlighting enterprise services as a key avenue for diversification in an increasingly complex and competitive market.
Juan Pedro Tomas
Editor
RCR Wireless News
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