The latest memory price tracking report for February 2026 released by research organization Counterpoint Research shows that driven by the high-profit demand for AI servers, DRAM and NAND flash memory prices have soared by more than 600% in the past year. Data shows that memory price increases will continue until at least June 2026, and prices may peak in the first half of 2026, but supply issues will continue to exist.
Network equipment such as routers and set-top boxes among consumer products have been impacted far more than smartphones, with memory costs increasing nearly 7 times.
The report pointed out that in the past nine months, the price of smartphone DRAM has increased threefold, but the price of consumer-grade memory used in broadband products such as routers has soared nearly sevenfold.
This phenomenon may be due to the fact that the shipment volume of products such as routers is much lower than that of mobile phones, or the bargaining power of the supply chain of relevant manufacturers is weak and they are forced to bear higher procurement costs.
According to Counterpoint disassembly and BOM analysis service data,A year ago, memory costs accounted for only about 3% of the BOM cost of mid- to low-end routers, but now this proportion has risen sharply to more than 20%.
This is undoubtedly a huge blow to telecom operators who plan to accelerate the popularization of global broadband in 2026. The out-of-control memory prices not only increase the procurement cost of CPE equipment, but also directly slow down the deployment process of fiber optic FWA.
