Small Cell 5G Network Market Analysis

Component Segment Analysis

The hardware is predicted to capture the highest revenue share of 65.8% in the small cell 5G network market over the forecasted years. The segment’s dominance is mainly due to small cell installations, i.e., picocells, femtocells, microcells, that are fundamental physical infrastructure required for densifying 5G coverage in urban and enterprise locations. In January 2025, Verizon Business announced that it had been selected by the U.S. Air Force to deploy 5G and 4G LTE network enhancements across 35 Air Force bases in the U.S. These upgrades include small cells, new macro builds, and C-Band carrier additions to improve network speed, bandwidth, and latency for personnel and surrounding communities. This deployment is part of Verizon’s ongoing involvement in the Air Force’s Offer to Lease program, expanding 5G coverage, hence denoting a wider segment scope.

Network Model Segment Analysis

In the small cell 5G network market, the non-standalone is anticipated to grow at a considerable rate over the discussed timeframe, owing to the early rollouts across all nations. This is also deployed along with the existing legacy network infrastructure, benefiting from its cost-effectiveness. In this regard, Nokia and Bharti Airtel in July 2024 announced that they successfully completed India’s first 5G non-standalone cloud RAN trial, which marks a key milestone in Airtel’s network evolution. The trial utilized 3.5 GHz for 5G and 2100 MHz for 4G, performing data calls with commercial devices over Airtel’s live network and achieving throughput exceeding 1.2 Gbps. Also, Nokia’s cloud RAN solution leveraged virtualized, distributed, and centralized units on x86 hardware with L1 acceleration, enabling efficient power usage and performance across a hybrid RAN environment. Hence, this trial demonstrates the benefits of scalable, agile, and automated network deployment, supporting Airtel’s goal of delivering high-quality, future-ready 5G services.

Deployment Mode Segment Analysis

By the end of 2035, the indoor sub-segment based on deployment mode is anticipated to grow at a considerable rate and showcase lucrative growth opportunities in the market. The growth of the subtype is efficiently propelled by the demand for consistent indoor 5G coverage in offices, malls, airports, and homes. These indoor small cells help fill coverage holes where macro cells are comparatively less effective. In addition, this expansion is positively influenced by the rising adoption of smart buildings, IoT devices, and enterprise applications that require reliable high-speed connectivity. Indoor small cells also enable low-latency services and high-capacity networks in dense urban environments. Moreover, enterprises and public venues are making continued investments in indoor 5G infrastructure to support digital transformation initiatives, which in turn results, vendors focusing on energy-efficient small cell solutions to meet this growing indoor demand.

Our in-depth analysis of the market includes the following segments: