5G network slicing market seen topping $15 billion by 2030

The Business Research Company says the global 5G network slicing market is on track to exceed $15 billion by 2030, with Asia-Pacific and the U.S. expected to lead growth. The report points to rising demand for industry-specific connectivity, private 5G, and AI-driven network orchestration as key catalysts.

Why it matters: - 5G network slicing lets operators carve multiple virtual networks out of shared infrastructure. - That makes it easier to support applications that need low latency, predictable performance and tighter security. - The market is emerging as a key layer in next-generation telecom and enterprise connectivity. - The business case matters most in manufacturing, healthcare, public safety, smart cities and other sectors with mission-critical traffic.

What happened: - The Business Research Company published its 2026 report on the global Fifth Generation (5G) Network Slicing market. - The market is projected to exceed $15 billion by 2030. - The broader next-generation network market is expected to reach about $52 billion by 2030. - 5G network slicing is forecast to account for nearly 29% of that parent market. - Within the wider information technology market, valued at $13,788 billion in 2030, 5G network slicing is estimated to represent about 0.1%. - Asia-Pacific is expected to be the largest regional market by 2030 at $5.1 billion. - The U.S. is expected to be the largest country-level market by 2030 at $4.0 billion. - The solutions segment is projected to account for 65% of the market, or $10 billion, by 2030. - The market is expected to grow at a 36% CAGR through 2030. - Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson led global sales in 2025 with a 3% market share.

The details: - Asia-Pacific is forecast to grow from $1.1 billion in 2025 to $5.1 billion in 2030. - The region’s growth is tied to standalone 5G commercialization, smart city spending, digital infrastructure investment, industrial automation and private 5G deployment. - Rising use of latency-sensitive applications in manufacturing and healthcare is adding to demand. - Supportive government policies for advanced wireless technology and digital transformation are also contributing to growth. - The U.S. market is expected to rise from $0.9 billion in 2025 to $4.0 billion in 2030. - U.S. growth is being driven by standalone 5G deployment, enterprise demand for tailored service levels, edge computing adoption and cloud-native networks. - Mission-critical connectivity spending for defense and public safety is supporting the market. - Partnerships between communications service providers and cloud technology firms are expanding commercial slicing offerings. - The market is segmented into solutions and services. - It is also segmented by deployment into public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud. - Organization-size segments include large enterprises and small and medium enterprises. - Industry verticals include manufacturing, automotive, energy and utilities, healthcare, media and entertainment, BFSI, public safety, agriculture and other sectors. - Applications include remote monitoring, real-time surveillance, supply chain and asset management, real-time streaming, network monitoring, network function virtualization and multimedia services. - The solutions segment is supported by network orchestration and slice management platforms, automation for end-to-end lifecycle management, software-defined networking and network function virtualization. - Enterprises are increasingly using dedicated virtual networks for critical workloads. - AI-driven network optimization is improving service quality and operational efficiency. - The combined solutions and services segments are expected to exceed $11 billion by 2030. - From 2025 to 2030, the solutions segment is projected to add $7 billion and services are projected to add $4 billion. - The market includes telecom equipment manufacturers, infrastructure providers and cloud-native technology firms. - Key capabilities shaping competition include virtualization, SDN, orchestration, low latency, bandwidth allocation, edge integration and automated end-to-end management. - The report names Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, Cisco, Samsung, ZTE, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Intel and HPE among the leading players. - Other named market participants include NEC, Mavenir, Ciena, Fujitsu, Broadcom, Amdocs, BT Group, Deutsche Telekom, NTT DOCOMO, AT&T, Telefónica and Jio Platforms. - The market is described as moderately fragmented. - The top 10 companies accounted for 25% of total market revenue in 2025. - Entry barriers remain high because of telecom infrastructure complexity, virtualization requirements, regulation, spectrum allocation and mission-critical performance demands. - The report lists raw material and technology suppliers including Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, Samsung, Cisco, ZTE, NEC, Fujitsu, Qualcomm, Intel, VMware, Dell, IBM, Oracle, Broadcom, Marvell, Analog Devices, Texas Instruments, NXP Semiconductors, Keysight and Ciena. - Named distributors and wholesalers include Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Arrow Electronics, Avnet, Synnex, ScanSource, Westcon Group, Exclusive Networks, ALSO Holding, Esprinet, Bechtle, Redington, Mindware, ASBIS, Logicom, EET Group, Future Electronics, Macnica, WESCO, CDW, Insight, Softchoice and D&H Distributing. - Named end users include Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile US, Vodafone, Telefónica, Orange, BT Group, Deutsche Telekom, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Bharti Airtel, SK Telecom, KT, NTT Docomo, SoftBank, AWS Telco Network Services, Microsoft Azure Network Services, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, Rakuten Mobile, Singtel, Telstra and KDDI. - The report says AI-driven autonomous network slicing is changing the market by enabling real-time orchestration, dynamic resource allocation and intent-based optimization. - In December 2025, Nokia introduced an autonomous 5G advanced network slicing solution with du. - That offering includes machine learning-based self-optimizing slice performance, intent-based policy control, AirScale base station integration and the MantaRay SMO platform.

Between the lines: - The report points to a market shifting from basic connectivity toward software-defined, enterprise-specific service delivery. - The strongest growth drivers are industrial use cases, private networks and automation rather than consumer mobile traffic alone. - The concentration of revenue among a relatively small number of vendors suggests a market that is growing quickly but still constrained by technical and regulatory complexity. - AI appears to be the next major differentiator, especially for orchestration, assurance and service optimization.

What's next: - The report expects continued growth through 2030 as operators expand standalone 5G and cloud-native network architectures. - More private 5G deployments in industrial settings should support demand for slicing tools and managed services. - AI-powered network optimization and assurance platforms are likely to become more important in vendor strategies. - The competitive field is expected to keep favoring firms with broad 5G portfolios, cloud partnerships and global deployment scale.

The bottom line: - 5G network slicing is moving from a niche telecom capability to a major growth market tied to enterprise automation, smart infrastructure and customized connectivity.