For the sixth consecutive year, Ericsson has been positioned as the clear leader in Growth and Innovation by Frost & Sullivan’s “Frost Radar™: 5G Network Infrastructure, 2026” report. This recognition underscores Ericsson’s position as a long-term partner for 5G evolution, setting the pace for AI-driven, open, and sustainable 5G networks.
The analysis places Ericsson at the forefront among the top 20 leading companies assessed in a field of more than 100 global industry participants.
The Frost Radar report identifies Ericsson as the leader in both the Growth axis and Innovation axis, highlighting the company’s comprehensive 5G network infrastructure portfolio spanning radio access networks (RAN), transport, and core and edge networks, including traditional RAN, open and virtual RAN, AI-enabled RAN, and private networks, as well as its proven ability to scale innovation globally. It also notes the company’s progress with network APIs as a road to new innovation around mobile networks and utilizing AI to automate its network offerings.
Ericsson’s sustained leadership in both the Growth Index and the Innovation Index demonstrates the company’s ongoing investment in a broad product portfolio, as well as its ability to turn innovation into large-scale, real-world solutions that customers can trust over time.
The report notes Ericsson’s strong and sustained investment in research and development, with almost 21 percent of revenue invested in R&D in 2025. Frost & Sullivan also highlights Ericsson’s role as a founding member of the AI RAN Alliance, and its continued focus on energy efficiency. Ericsson’s target is to reduce energy consumption at new typical radio base station sites by 40 percent by 2025 compared with a 2021 baseline has already been achieved, now extended to 50 percent by 2027.
Energy performance improvements are achieved through a combination of network evolution and innovation across Ericsson’s portfolio — from RAN modernization with high‑performing, energy‑efficient hardware to software innovations that embed intent‑driven and AI‑enabled energy‑saving features for intelligent network operation, and the continuous optimization of Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core and Cloud Native Infrastructure Solution for the market’s latest processors to reduce energy consumption, while improving 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”, says 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, supporting our customers’ long-term network evolution.”
Troy Morley, Industry Principal analyst, Frost & Sullivan Information, Communications and Technologies, says: “Ericsson significantly stands out in the 2026 Frost Radar analysis for its ability to combine innovation leadership with strong growth execution. Ericsson’s strength lies in its ability to scale innovation globally across generations of mobile technology, supported by significant and sustained investment in R&D. The company’s comprehensive 5G portfolio, leadership in open and virtual RAN, and progress in energy efficiency position Ericsson strongly as the market continues to evolve.”
The Frost Radar measures growth rates in addition to absolute revenue and combines them with several other factors to measure companies’ performance on the Growth Index. The Frost Radar measures innovation for each company by assessing its product portfolio, the scalability of its innovations, the efficacy of its R&D strategy, and several other factors.
Download the full report: Frost Radar™: 5G Network Infrastructure Market, 2026
