BELMONT, CA — May 21, 2026 — Exact Ventures recently published its IMS and Next-Generation Network (NGN) Voice Core Market Share and Total Market Analysis for 1Q 2026.

The voice core market told two related stories in 1Q26. IMS, the modern voice infrastructure underpinning VoLTE and 5G voice services, saw a sharp seasonal pullback in IMS VAS and CSCF revenue. Meanwhile, the legacy NGN voice market — the TDM-to-IP bridge technologies that IMS and SBCs are gradually displacing — continued its long-term decline, with wireline NGN sales falling while wireless NGN saw a modest offsetting gain.

Despite the near-term softness, the structural direction is clear: operators outside North America continue migrating from 2G/3G voice toward IMS and VoLTE, both to modernize legacy infrastructure and to free up spectrum for 4G/5G services. At the same time, established IMS networks are increasingly transitioning from virtualized (VNF) to cloud-native (CNF) architectures, unlocking efficiency, scalability, and automation. As the chart below shows, CNF’s share of the IMS market is expected to expand meaningfully through 2026 as this transition accelerates — a trend we expect to be a primary growth driver going forward. Looking further ahead, the combination of 5G New Calling, network APIs, and AI-driven value-added services (such as real-time translation and in-call AI assistants) is opening new monetization paths for operators built on this modernized IMS foundation.

How are vendors positioning for the shift to CNF-based IMS, and which markets are leading the next wave of VoLTE modernization as legacy NGN infrastructure continues to wind down? Our 1Q26 report breaks down vendor-by-vendor share across IMS, CSCF, IMS VAS, and NGN (wireline and wireless), by region, along with a full 5-year forecast through 2030.

For more information or to request the full report, contact:
Greg Collins
Exact Ventures
greg@exactventures.com