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Blog
20 October 2025
Author
We’ll explore the crucial differences between 5G NSA vs SA – and take a peek at what’s to come. Read more about the future of 5G networks here
Blog
20 October, 2025
Author
5G - A Success?
Objectively speaking, that’s a success. What’s the problem then?
Well, it stems from the fact that 5G was always due to be deployed in phases, but the general tag (“5”) and the performance recommendations published back in the 20-teens set expectations. The media overlooked this phased approach and, instead, published articles based on what 5G would eventually do, not what it actually could do in its first iteration.
5G NSA Couldn't Deliver On the Full Requirements
This has been a problem for the industry, as user and market expectations have not been met. That’s because the first phase of 5G — NSA or Non-standalone — could never deliver on the full requirements of the IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications-2020, to give it its full name).
Why? In this blog, we’ll explore the crucial differences between 5G NSA and SA – and take a peek at what’s to come.
5G NSA vs SA
What's the real difference?
It’s actually quite simple. IMT-2020 had excellent ambitions but the realization of these was a technical challenge, requiring a new core and radio architecture, and transformation towards a virtualized, software-defined network. There’s no escaping the truth here – that was hard. Not every MNO was starting from the same point, and not every MNO has been able to proceed at the same rate. The building blocks were in place, but no MNO was able to jump straight to the fully realized version of 5G.
5G NSA is Not a Discrete Network
And, in fact, the standards organizations recognized this, providing a template for the gradual introduction of 5G capabilities (anyone interested in the sequencing can learn more, here). In practice, this meant that the radio side of the network could emerge first, utilizing the new spectrum allocated to 5G, but the core took a bit longer to follow.
So, as a result, the first deployments of 5G gave 5G radio access (with lots of new base stations to deliver coverage – and taking the lion’s share of new network investments in the process) but used the existing 4G core. In other words, 5G was not a discrete network – hence the name, NSA – but rather an add-on to the existing infrastructure.
In the public domain, this mattered, because user experience would then be measured against the expectations of full 5G, leading to all sorts of misreporting. Where 5G SA (standalone – a dedicated, end-to-end 5G network, as the name implies) could be most easily deployed by early adopters was in private networks, so most progress towards full 5G in the early years, took place in this domain (but that’s another story, for another time).
The reality was that most MNOs either opted to deliver NSA first (with the inevitable sense that 5G hadn’t delivered, at least according to some commentators), or simply waited until SA had matured (learning lessons from private deployments along the way). So, where are we now?
5G SA – Gathering Momentum
At this point, the transition to full 5G SA is well underway. Remember, most of the 5G connections in the public domain today are really using 5G NSA. However, that’s about to change – dramatically so.
According to the GSA – well worth registering with for their valuable data – the number of MNOs worldwide that are investing in 5G SA (trials, launches) has now reached nearly ¼ of those that have 5G licenses. Better still, at least 60 MNOs have launched or deployed public 5G SA networks (note the emphasis on public, here) – and more than 50 are planning to do so, according to the recent GSA report 5G Standalone: Global Status Update
The needle is definitely moving around the dial. And, this activity is truly global, with launches across EMEA, the Americas and Asia Pacific. So, the long-awaited – but actually more or less to schedule – advent of 5G SA is here.
What Does the Availability of 5G SA Mean?
For a start, this means that something much closer to the aspirations of IMT-2020 is now widely available and is being offered to consumers AND businesses. Of perhaps more importance, however, MNOs that have launched SA now have the tools to deliver advanced services that depend on this iteration of the standards.
This will bring network slicing (which is required for 5G SA – see here, for more details) to the fore. Yes, you could do slicing in 4G, say, or even in a limited way in NSA, but it wasn’t foundational. It is for SA.
5G Advanced
And with that, we get a whole lot more. However, that brings us to another challenge. As you know, the industry has adopted the term “5G Advanced” to cover some recent updates. In many respects, this simply follows the familiar process of iterative evolution to a “G”, through the release of interim or partial updates – think EDGE, HSDPA, LTE Advanced, and so on.
To some extent, this is misleading, as these updates (always anticipated) repeat the mistake of NSA, in that it suggests that 5G wasn’t really sufficient to deliver the aspirations of IMT-2020, so we need to do something extra. In reality, what many call 5G Advanced was always in the pipeline; it just took a while to materialize.
So, 5G was always a moving target, just like every other generation and was scheduled to evolve to reach the desired end-game – 5G SA availability across nationwide public networks. 5G Advanced is a step forward, but we’ve still some way to travel towards full 5G SA and what we hope that will deliver.
But, most people outside the telco domain think they got 5G some years ago. They did, but not what the media led them to believe – and perhaps won’t until later this decade. Perhaps 6G will follow a similar path.
This now creates a real tension. MNOs launching 5G SA have to show that it makes a difference, even though they are doing what they said all along. Obviously, this has implications for service assurance – as user expectations will be elevated, while public attention has grown through the phased approach it has taken to get here.
So, What's Next?
Put simply, we must meet these expectations while also capitalizing on the opportunity to deliver new services – to consumers, to B2B customers and partners, and other B2B2X actors who can benefit from the services that 5G SA unlocks.
Some MNOs have announced that they are charging consumers for new 5G SA services, others have not – but all plan to monetize these investments by developing new business models and partnerships with other stakeholders.
So, back to service assurance. But, this time, because 5G SA does bring us new things like URLLC, MIoT, V2X, HMTC, HDLLC and so on, plus all the variations of performance these slices types allow, we have a myriad of things to assure – and the challenge of doing so through automation and with dynamic capabilities.
And that’s where we come in. We’ve walked through the history and seen where we’re headed, based on the real story behind 5G. Now, if you are taking off with 5G SA, we should talk about how you will deliver and assure a new generation of automated, agile and dynamic services with completely new levels of performance.
One thing’s for certain: to delight investors, users and business partners alike, MNOs simply must capitalize on these investments. And that requires a new service assurance paradigm.
Fortunately, we still have time – as we noted - with quite a few years to go before the next generation comes around!
Service Assurance for
5G SA
Monetizing the 5G network is a must for CSPs. To meet and exceed the high expectations of early adopters, you need an assurance solution that provides full visibility over the customer experience. Polystar provides commercial-grade, multivendor 5G SA CX assurance for 30+ CSPs globally.
