Stefan Pongratz joined Dell’Oro Group in 2010 and is responsible for the firm’s Mobile RAN market and Telecom Capex research programs. While at the firm, Mr. Pongratz has expanded the RAN research and authored multiple Advanced Research Reports to ensure the program is evolving to address new RAN technologies and opportunities including small cells, 5G, Open RAN, Massive MIMO, mmWave, IoT, private wireless, and CBRS. He built the Telecom Capex coverage detailing revenues and investments of over 50 carriers worldwide.
Prior to joining Dell’Oro Group, Mr. Pongratz was with Anritsu Company for 10 years, where he was most recently a Senior Product Manager responsible for portable spectrum analyzers and cable and antenna analyzers used to verify base station quality. During his tenure at Anritsu, Mr. Pongratz also held positions in engineering and manufacturing management.
Mr. Pongratz research and analysis have been cited with the suppliers and publications including Barron’s, Bloomberg, Fierce Wireless, EE Times, Financial Times, Lightreading, Pipeline Magazine, RCR Wireless, Telecom Asia and the Wall Street Journal. He has hosted webinars and speaks at industry conferences, including Brooklyn 5G Summit, OFC, Small Cell World, RAN USA, RAN World, and the Telecom Industry Association.
Mr. Pongratz graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California Irvine. He also holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University, and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Davis.
Accomplishments
Mr. Pongratz’s research insights are notable for distinguishing between hype and reality. During the peak of the LTE hype cycle, he was among the few telecom analysts who predicted that the shift from 3G to 4G would not grow the overall mobile infrastructure market. For six years, Mr. Pongratz consistently issued negative 5-year CAGR projections for the overall RAN market. During the C-RAN and small cell hype cycles, he correctly predicted that the shifts from D-RAN to C-RAN and macro to the small cell would take significantly longer than expected.
I love wireless technologies and numbers - and the Dell’Oro DNA motivates me to dig deep and express the underlying technology analysis with numbers.
Press Releases
- RAN Comes in Below Expectations in 2022, According to Dell’Oro Group
- Private Wireless Projections Revised Downward Again, According to Dell’Oro Group
- 5-Year Open RAN Forecast Revised Upward, According to Dell’Oro Group
Articles
- How can open RAN improve total cost of ownership? — Pongratz
- Where are we in the 5G cycle? — Pongratz
- The private 5G ecosystem improves, especially in China — Pongratz
Blogs
- Worldwide Telecom Equipment up 3 Percent in 2022
- MWC 2023–RAN Market Key Takeaways
- Massive MIMO Slowed in 2022 – Still More Growth Ahead
Videos
Webinars
- Private Network Global Forum 2022
- Open RAN Transformation Virtual Event
- Telecom TV: 5G Evolution Summit
In the News
- Dell’Oro says $100M+ private wireless supplier revenue is small
- An open standard threatens to disrupt the cloistered world of wireless networking
- Global RAN market continues to stagnate
