Global telecom revenue rises 4% as 5G tops 3 billion

Industry still leans on core connectivity.

Global telecom connectivity revenue rose 4% to $1.3t in 2025, as 5G connections surpassed 3 billion worldwide, according to Omdia.

The research firm said fourth-quarter connectivity revenue reached $333b, up 5% from a year earlier, across mobile, fixed broadband, and fixed voice.

It added that the industry remains reliant on its slow-growing core business whilst still trying to build new revenue streams.

Omdia said 5G connections grew 34% YoY to more than 3 billion, although that remained below 4G’s 8.3 billion connections. Asia accounted for 69% of global 5G connections, making it the largest market for the technology.

Fixed broadband connections reached 1.6 billion in 2025, with FTTx remaining the dominant technology at more than 1.169 billion connections after 7% annual growth.

India also overtook the United States in the fourth quarter to become the largest 5G fixed wireless access market, with 14.5 million connections against 13.9 million.

Omdia said global telecom capital spending totalled $303b in 2025, down 2% from a year earlier, although that was an improvement on the 3.5% decline recorded in 2024.

It added that operators from the United States and China continued to dominate the revenue rankings, accounting for eight of the world’s top 10 telecom groups.