Exploring 5G SA’s potential
5G standalone (SA) subscriptions are forecast to reach 3.6 billion by the end of 2030, accounting for nearly 60 percent of 5G subscriptions.
Key findings
By 2030, 5G SA subscriptions are expected to reach approximately 3.6 billion globally.
Over 60 service providers have deployed or launched public 5G SA networks.
Early 5G SA network deployments provide a substantial competitive advantage for service providers.
Leading service providers are deploying 5G SA networks as part of their journey to enabling service differentiation and performance-based business models. More than 60 service providers deployed or launched public 5G SA networks on mid- and low-band spectrum by the end of September 2024.[1] North America, China, South East Asia and Australia had early, major deployments during 2020–2022, but deployments are now also ongoing in Latin America, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and South Africa. In Europe, commercial launches have taken place in more than 10 countries, including Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain. However, 5G SA coverage is still scattered in most markets that have launched commercial networks (Figure 13).
Figure 13: 5G SA deployment and trials – indicative coverage
Source: Based on analysis by Ericsson of Ookla® Speedtest Intelligence® data for January 2022 to October 2024. Note: Samples include iOS and Android smartphones connecting to a 5G SA network. Sample density varies across markets, reflecting differences between markets with more extensive commercially launched 5G SA or markets with mainly trials/tests.
Early 5G SA network deployments provide a substantial competitive advantage for service providers that leverage its full benefits and potential. The 5G SA core is flexible and programmable, allowing services to be designed based on customers’ requirements, with assured quality of service (QoS), security and adaptability. 5G SA benefits include faster connection times (lower latency) and programmability for more agile creation of services and network slices. A deployed 5G SA network is also a prerequisite for 5G IoT use cases based on reduced capability (RedCap) technology.
5G SA subscriptions to reach 1.2 billion in 2024[2]
The proportion of 5G SA devices among all announced 5G devices is increasing, reaching approximately 70 percent by the end of June 2024.[3] Smartphones make up 60 percent of the announced, but not launched, 5G devices with stated 5G SA support, with a growing number featuring a default SA-enabled setting.
By the end of 2024, there will be an estimated 1.2 billion 5G SA mobile subscriptions worldwide, with the majority – around 1.1 billion – in China and India. By 2030, the global number of 5G SA subscriptions is projected to reach approximately 3.6 billion.
