Wednesday 22 July, 2026
As 5G standalone tech comes of age, it will generate new revenues for mobile operators
When it comes to 5G, the best is yet to come. Although 5G networks have been in service since the start of this decade, the mobile industry has yet to realise the full potential of this highly versatile technology.
Today, most 5G networks are incomplete – about 80% of the 350 operators that have launched a 5G radio network are still using a 4G core network. But that proportion is set to fall dramatically in the next few years, as the underlying technologies mature and greater economies of scale kick-in. 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, which have a dedicated 5G core.
The rollout of 5G core networks is important because it will give mobile operators a cloud-native, and potentially AI-native, service-based architecture, which is the key to unlocking all that 5G has to offer to consumers and enterprises. With a 5G SA network, operators are in a much better position to meet the burgeoning demand for AI applications, which generally require a low latency connection. GSMA Intelligence estimates that 5G SA can add up US$60 billion (the equivalent to 5%) to the global mobile industry’s annual revenue by 2030, with 70% of the SA revenue originating from the consumer market.
Opening up rich new offerings
That revenue uplift reflects the fact that 5G SA can support premium experiences and personalised bundles, enabling mobile operators to move beyond charging for basic connectivity to charging for differentiated propositions. More specifically, a 5G core enables operators to dedicate specific network resources to individual customers or applications. Dedicated network slices can underpin premium/VIP bundles, speed-based pricing, augmented and virtual reality applications, UHD video streaming, fast fixed wireless access propositions and other services that require consistently good throughput.
The ability to dynamically offer a network slice to enhance the user experience is made possible by Release 18 of the 3GPP standards. This release introduces a network data analytics function (NWDAF). This function supports sophisticated assurance solutions that will detect when a premium customer’s experience has been degraded and activate a network slice to guarantee service levels relative to regular customers. This approach is far superior to that in the early versions of 5G SA where operators would have to opt for a solution called radio resource portioning, which introduced a hard “partition” of available radio resources, which would have to be set up manually.
At the same time, a service-based architecture is well-suited to exposing network APIs which third-party developers can use to harness mobile operators’ capabilities, such as location verification, SIM card status and quality-on-demand. As they can charge for these value-added services, mobile operators will increasingly benefit from two-sided business models that serve both enterprises and consumers.
With 5G SA, mobile operators can also increase uplink speeds, as necessary. At the Paris Olympics, many spectators wanted to rapidly upload videos and even live stream coverage of sporting events. Mobile operator Orange changed the parameters on its 5G SA network to increase the resources allocated to the uplink. Taking advantage of the greater programmability of the 5G SA network, Orange reversed the traditional 80:20 allocation, to favour the uplink.
A high-speed uplink is also important for machine vision applications, in which cameras stream live images for interpretation by AI systems running in the cloud. Furthermore, 5G SA makes it easier for mobile operators to support demanding IoT deployments, such as those requiring dense sensor networks or ultra-reliable low-latency communications.
Standalone architectures are the future
Given all these advantages, it is no surprise that 5G SA is being baked into the 3GPP standards. After 3GPP Release 18, the default mobile network standards will be for standalone architectures. This means that an investment in 5G SA today will lay the foundation for 6G networks. By investing in 5G SA now, telcos can front run and spread some of the capex that will be required for 6G.
In the time between now and the arrival of 6G, 5G SA gives operators an opportunity to develop and test potential 6G use cases. As they are so versatile, 5G SA networks can potentially support even very demanding applications, such as services in which an end-user is completely immersed in a live digital twin of a real-world environment, such as a warehouse or a factory.
In this sense, the case for investing in 5G SA is two-pronged. Mobile operators with a 5G core will be able to boost the top line today, while also benefitting from a valuable insight into a 6G future in which AI-native service-based architectures are a given.
Read more about the opportunity of 5G SA networks in the consumer segment in the latest GSMA market research “5G Standalone: Getting Ahead of the Curve“.
About the author
Henry Calvert, Head of Networks, GSMA
