Thailand-Based Tech Insight: Ericsson Secures Sixth Consecutive Top Spot in Global 5G Infrastructure Rankings

Brickinfo News Agency – Ericsson has maintained its position as the global leader in the 5G network infrastructure market for the sixth consecutive year, according to the latest Frost Radar™ 2026 report by Frost & Sullivan. The analysis, which evaluated over 100 industry participants, placed the Swedish telecommunications giant at the peak of both the Growth and Innovation indices. This consistent ranking highlights the company’s transition toward AI-driven and sustainable 5G networks, emphasizing its role as a primary partner for global mobile network evolution.

The Frost Radar report identifies Ericsson’s leadership through its extensive portfolio, which includes radio access networks (RAN), transport, and core and edge networks. The assessment specifically noted the company’s proficiency in traditional, open, and virtual RAN, alongside its development of private networks. A key factor in this year’s ranking was Ericsson’s progress in network APIs, which are being utilized to foster new innovations and leverage artificial intelligence for automated network offerings.

Financial commitment to research remains a cornerstone of the company’s strategy. In 2025, Ericsson invested nearly 21 percent of its total revenue into R&D. This sustained investment has allowed the firm to scale innovations into real-world solutions. Furthermore, the company was recognized for its founding role in the AI RAN Alliance and its aggressive targets for energy efficiency. Having already met its 2025 goal of reducing energy consumption at radio base station sites by 40 percent compared to 2021, Ericsson has now extended that target to a 50 percent reduction by 2027.

These energy performance gains are achieved through a combination of RAN modernization and software innovations. By embedding intent-driven and AI-enabled energy-saving features, the company has optimized its dual-mode 5G Core and Cloud Native Infrastructure to work with the latest processors, reducing power consumption while simultaneously boosting performance.

“Being recognized once again by Frost & Sullivan as the leader for both growth and innovation reflect our continued investment in research and development and our focus on building technology that is scalable,” said Per Narvinger, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Area Networks at Ericsson. “We apply AI throughout our full portfolio — from Massive MIMO and Remote Radios, to network management, Transport, OSS/BSS, and Core — and we already see major AI gains, enabling more open, automated, and energy-efficient 5G networks.”

Troy Morley, Industry Principal analyst at Frost & Sullivan, noted that Ericsson stands out for its ability to combine innovation leadership with strong growth execution. Morley stated that the company’s strength lies in its ability to scale innovation globally across mobile technology generations, supported by its comprehensive 5G portfolio and leadership in open and virtual RAN.