5G standalone (SA) deployment is becoming increasingly widespread, but unlocking its service potential remains
an industry challenge. While 5G SA offers the potential for new services like RedCap (lightweight 5G) and network
slicing, operators are still exploring how to best package these services and deliver their value to consumers and
businesses.
Heavy Reading's Gabriel Brown explains, "5G SA—standalone—means 5G is independent of legacy 4G networks.
It represents the complete 5G architecture spanning the radio access network (RAN), core network, and device."
The Senior Principal Analyst for Mobile Networks at Heavy Reading shared the firm's latest research in a podcast,
exploring the reasons and key drivers for the accelerated deployment of 5G SA.
Brown likens the difference between non-standalone (NSA) and SA to the difference between driving a 20-year-old
car in good condition and a newer model, or using a five-year-old iPhone and an iPhone 16. While the older model
can perform basic tasks, the latest model offers significant improvements. "The difference of a few milliseconds on
a phone might be imperceptible, but we will gradually experience a better service," Brown said.
Across the industry, 5G SA rollout has been somewhat slow, but Brown believes the telecom industry is now reaching
a turning point for large-scale deployment. "In advanced markets—we can distinguish between different market
types—5G will achieve significant and robust scale-up over the next five years, meaning more devices will operate
primarily in SA mode," he added. For example, major Chinese operators and T-Mobile have been operating 5G SA
at scale for several years; India's Reliance Jio operates a massive 5G SA network and offers ten types of network
slicing in commercial use; and EE in the UK has achieved 5G SA coverage for 50% of the population. This evidence
demonstrates the feasibility of large-scale deployment and supports predictions of wider adoption.
Heavy Reading's "2025 5G SA Core Network Operator Survey" shows that 35% of respondents report that 5G
SA has achieved nationwide availability in their wide-area networks, with 20% expecting to achieve this goal
by the end of this year. In the podcast, Brown also explained the difference between 5G SA and 5G Advanced:
"They are essentially a continuum. SA is the complete architecture, while 5G Advanced is the subsequent
releases (3GPP Releases 18 and 19), so 5G Advanced must be built on SA as a foundation."
Looking ahead, Brown noted that deploying 5G SA requires "high-quality RAN" and a telecom cloud infrastructure
to run the core network. Furthermore, operators must clearly and clearly communicate the user value of 5G SA
and create suitable service packages for both consumers and businesses, which is crucial for technology adoption.
