5G Standalone: Full Steam Ahead?

Henry Calvert, Head of Networks at the GSMA, explores the factors holding back the rollout of 5G standalone networks are now fading

For the mobile industry and its customers, 5G Standalone (SA) is likely to create tens of billions of dollars of incremental value. But only about one quarter of operator groups worldwide have deployed the technology at scale. What has been holding the industry back?

It’s generally not the business case. Only 16% of the operators surveyed by GSMA Intelligence in 2024 regarded uncertain ROI (return on investment) as the greatest obstacle to deploying 5G SA.

Instead, the survey revealed that the main issues curbing 5G SA rollouts in 2024 were concerns about the technology’s maturity and the difficulties of integrating a 5G core network with existing systems. Some 26% of respondents identified technology maturity as the largest obstacle to 5G SA deployments, while 19% cited “integration headaches.” Those responses reflect the fact that many mobile operators are relatively unfamiliar with the cloud-native technologies that underpin 5G SA networks. Many smaller operators, in particular, lack the skillsets to manage cloud-native environments alongside their existing network architectures.

These technological challenges would be particularly acute when operators opt for a multi-vendor approach to 5G SA. While sourcing different functions from different vendors can help to maximise performance, this approach increases complexity, particularly when the relevant standards are still being finalised.

Operators get to grips with cloud-native networks

But these technological challenges are beginning to fade as telecoms engineers build up cloud-native expertise and the 3GPP standards become increasingly definitive. The finalisation of 3GPP Release 18, which incorporates new features that help simplify the deployment and operation of network slices, is a particularly important milestone in this respect. By 2024, about two-thirds of telcos globally had deployed 5G SA on a small scale, according to the survey by GSMA Intelligence, which will have enabled their engineers to explore how cloud-native technologies can best be applied to telecoms networks.

Better still, Release 18 standardises many 5G-Advanced features, such as dynamic network slicing, highly accurate location and positioning awareness, ultra-low latency and other uplink speed boosts, further expanding the versatility and utility of 5G. Supported by a 5G core network, these features will enable mobile operators to facilitate (and monetise) use cases that simply aren’t possible with 4G or non-standalone 5G networks, which still rely on a 4G core. Augmented reality, virtual reality, cloud gaming, industrial IoT and many AI-based applications all require the responsive and high-speed uplinks that are enabled by 5G SA technologies.

The availability of suitable devices and spectrum is increasing

In the consumer market, another limiting factor has been the fact that many people don’t have 5G SA smartphones. However, the growing availability of compatible handsets, together with the frequency with which many consumers upgrade their smartphones, means that devices are no longer a major bottleneck for 5G SA operators.

In some markets, a lack of suitable spectrum has also been a constraint.  But pioneering 5G SA operators (such as T-Mobile US, and EE in the UK) have demonstrated how a mix of low and mid frequency bands can deliver both coverage and capacity. Moreover, regulators around the world are gradually releasing more spectrum for 5G as mobile traffic continues to grow.

Meanwhile, as the industry gains economies of scale[1], the cost of 5G SA equipment and software is gradually falling, enabling operators to get more 5G SA bang for their capex buck.

As a result, many of the operators that have deployed 5G on a limited scale (such as across a university campus) or are currently in beta trials are likely to proceed to a broad rollout over the next two to three years. Many may opt for a phased rollout strategy that tests the ROI in point locations, such as sports stadiums, concert venues, transportation hubs and the like, before expanding 5G SA across a larger footprint.

A stepping stone to 6G

Another driver behind the 5G SA momentum will be operators’ preparations for 6G. By investing in 5G SA now, telcos front run and spread some of the capex that will be required for 6G given that the transition between the two could happen via a software upgrade, rather than major equipment swap outs of the core. At the same time, 5G SA gives operators a chance to ‘test’ some of the 6G use cases (such as VR gaming) before 6G formally arrives.

In summary, the obstacles holding back the rollout of 5G SA are now falling away. That means 5G can come of age. First launched in 2019, 5G is now past midway through the typical 10-year infrastructure cycle for each generation of mobile technologies. With a broader deployment of 5G SA, mobile operators will finally be able to offer the service capabilities that were (and continue to be) a vital part of the original 5G value proposition. Access the latest GSMA research into Standalone Networks for insights into deployment pathways and the potential RoI across enterprise and consumer markets.

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[1] GSMA Intelligence forecasts that there will be 5.6 billion 5G connections in 2030 and 65% of these will be using 5G standalone (SA) networks.

About the author

Henry Calvert, Head of Networks, GSMA