Europe has made strong progress on 5G coverage. But the next phase of digital competitiveness will depend on something more demanding: whether its networks can support the services powered by artificial intelligence, industrial systems and mission-critical operations that will shape the next decade. 5G Standalone is central to that shift.
Europe’s challenge: coverage is not capability
For years, Europe has measured progress on 5G through coverage: how many people can connect, how much territory is reached, and how quickly networks are rolled out. That was a necessary first step. But it is no longer enough.
The next phase of Europe’s digital development will not be defined by whether people can see a 5G icon on their phones, but by what people, businesses and public services can do with the technology. Can networks deliver the reliability needed for automated factories? Can they support artificial intelligence applications that depend on real-time data from cameras, sensors and machines? Can they give hospitals, energy systems, rail networks and public safety organizations the secure, predictable connectivity they increasingly need? Will they be ready for the rapid growth of AI?
This is why Europe needs to move from looking at connectivity coverage to focusing on connectivity capability.
Advanced mobile networks are no longer simply about giving more people access to faster mobile broadband. They are becoming the digital infrastructure behind industrial productivity, public-sector modernization, energy systems, transport, healthcare, security and future innovation. 5G Standalone, often shortened to 5G SA, is central to this transition. It is not just another technical upgrade in the mobile network. It is the step that allows 5G to move beyond best-effort connectivity and deliver more predictable, differentiated and guaranteed performance. 5G SA is an industrial network that can enhance efficiency and competitiveness across entire sectors of the economy and society.
Without faster deployment of 5G Standalone and advanced network capabilities, Europe risks building a digital economy on networks that are not designed for the demands now emerging. The gap is already visible: in Q4 2025, only 2.8% of European 5G connections were on 5G Standalone networks, compared to almost a third in North America and more than 80% in China. That would make it significantly harder to compete in AI, industrial transformation, advanced public services and the next generation of digital business models.
Europe cannot close this capability gap without stronger investment conditions. The issue reaches far beyond telecom: AI strategies, industrial transformation, secure public services and the next generation of digital business models all depend on networks that can deliver higher performance, greater resilience and stronger security.
5G Standalone unlocks the full value of 5G
Many networks marketed as 5G in Europe still rely on a 4G core, using what is known as Non-Standalone architecture. This has helped improve mobile broadband speeds and support the first phase of 5G deployment. But it does not unlock the full capabilities that 5G was designed to deliver.
The full value of 5G begins with Standalone architecture, where both the radio access network and the core network are 5G. This matters because the core is where many of the most advanced capabilities are enabled, including differentiated performance, greater automation, stronger service assurance and more flexible support for enterprise and public-sector use cases.
But not all 5G Standalone deployments are created equal. The real value comes when Standalone is combined with sufficient mid-band capacity, automation and service assurance to deliver a clear performance uplift over existing networks.
This is the foundation of programmable networks: networks that can be configured and optimized in near real time to support specific business, industrial, or societal outcomes
For operators, 5G Standalone creates new ways to monetize network investments. For enterprises, it makes it possible to redesign operations around reliable and predictable connectivity. For society, it provides the infrastructure needed to accelerate digital transformation in sectors where connectivity failure is not just inconvenient, but can disrupt essential services, from transport systems and energy grids to hospitals, emergency response and public safety.
AI makes advanced connectivity essential
The rise of AI makes the case for advanced connectivity even stronger. As AI expands from centralized data centers into distributed, real-time applications, networks will need to handle new patterns of traffic and performance demand.
In the next industrial phase of AI, more data will move from devices, sensors, machines and cameras into AI models at the edge and in the cloud. That means networks will need stronger uplink capacity, lower latency, higher reliability and more predictable performance. Average speed will matter less than whether the network can deliver the right performance at the right moment, for the application that needs it.
Best-effort connectivity, including 4G and Wi-Fi, will continue to have an important role. But it will not be enough for every AI-driven use case. Computer vision on the factory floor, connected medical devices, autonomous systems, remote operations and immersive services all depend on a level of network performance that is secure, stable and predictable.
Advanced connectivity based on 5G Standalone, and eventually 6G, will be needed to support AI as it becomes more distributed, more agentic and more connected to the physical world.
For Europe, the implication is clear. AI and connectivity strategies cannot be developed in isolation. Regions that deploy the most advanced 5G networks by the end of this decade will be better placed to harness AI, shape new services and influence the next generation of digital standards.
Advanced 5G is already showing its value
The case for 5G Standalone is not only theoretical. Across Europe, advanced mobile capabilities are already showing how better connectivity can support competitiveness, growth and resilience.
In Europe, 5G Standalone and private 5G are already moving from promise to practical deployment. In the UK, the Port of Tyne is using Ericsson Private 5G across its site to support safer and more efficient port operations, including real-time video analytics, sensors, connected equipment, PPE monitoring, emission monitoring and remote-controlled machinery. In the Netherlands, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has activated Ericsson Private 5G to explore more flexible, data-driven airport operations, including IoT monitoring, real-time safety systems and predictive maintenance. In France, Bouygues Telecom Business, Bordeaux University Hospital and Ericsson are deploying a 5G SA-based smart hospital solution using network slicing, edge computing and advanced geolocation to support more resilient and connected healthcare services.
The lesson is clear: 5G Standalone is not just about improving mobile broadband. It is about creating the network foundation for the services, industries and public systems that Europe will increasingly depend on.
5G Standalone is a strategic choice for Europe
Europe’s competitiveness will increasingly depend on how quickly it can turn advanced connectivity into productivity, innovation, resilience and high-quality jobs. That requires a decisive shift from coverage to capability, and 5G Standalone is at the heart of that shift.
Closing Europe’s connectivity investment gap is essential to making that shift happen. This means prioritizing policies that incentivize network investment, from more investment-friendly spectrum licensing and greater certainty to a Digital Networks Act that supports faster modernization of advanced connectivity infrastructure.
The question is not whether networks will evolve. They will. The choice for Europe is whether to lead that evolution or adapt to it later.
Treating advanced connectivity as critical infrastructure, prioritizing it and setting policies accordingly, is how Europe can sharpen its competitive edge, strengthen its resilience and secure its role in the next era of digital and industrial innovation.