Story perspectives

61 Million Small Cells Expected by 2030 Amid 5G Surge

9/13/2025

Summary

Story summary

Small Cell Forum forecasts 61 million small-cell shipments by 2030, fueled by enterprise demand and 5G standalone adoption.
Indoor small-cell deployments will account for 60% of rollouts in 2023-2024, stabilizing at 54% by 2030.
Neutral-host models are expected to double in enterprise rollouts by 2030.
Telcos are converting central offices into Neighborhood AI Factories for low-latency AI services.
Operators plan to invest $30.8 billion in AI infrastructure by 2027 to improve local services.

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Story summary

Small Cell Forum forecasts 61 million small-cell shipments by 2030, fueled by enterprise demand and 5G standalone adoption.
Indoor small-cell deployments will account for 60% of rollouts in 2023-2024, stabilizing at 54% by 2030.
Neutral-host models are expected to double in enterprise rollouts by 2030.
Telcos are converting central offices into Neighborhood AI Factories for low-latency AI services.
Operators plan to invest $30.8 billion in AI infrastructure by 2027 to improve local services.