The big telecom service providers in the U.S. seem to be focused on improving mobile connectivity for users. T-Mobile, especially, has managed to establish itself in the domain firmly and was even the pioneer in launching a nationwide standalone 5G network back in 2020. Verizon also does not plan on staying behind for long, as the company has begun rolling out 5G SA in selected areas.
Verizon activates standalone 5G, which could have big implications for the future of connectivity
Verizon is finally stepping up by officially switching to standalone 5G (5G SA) for consumers starting in Redwood City, California, as per market research firm Dell’Oro Group's director Dave Bolan, via Fierce Network. Previously, AT&T and Verizon stuck to a non-standalone 5G, which basically depends on older 4G infrastructure. While it could carry out the functionality, it did not fully offer the true 5G experience. Verizon is now taking this leap and intends to compete better with other mobile networks.
The move to standalone 5G is important because it does not work like non-standalone setups, as it is not dependent on 4G for control signals. This helps with response time, reduces lags and latency problems, and supports any future features that need to be added, such as network slicing. What network slicing would aid in is that it would let carriers dedicate part of the network for critical needs, allowing for a faster and smarter network.
Not only is the move huge, but how Verizon is bringing it forward, since the carrier has activated the SA on two spectrums: 850 MHz low-band for wide coverage, and then the 3700 MHz mid-band (C-band) for speed. This would give users reliable 5G signals in almost every location, and the mid-band ensures that there are big speed boosts available when in range.
To measure its impact, Dave Bolan had the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra put to a speed test, and the results were pretty impressive. The Galaxy device was said to have clocked nearly 977 Mbps download speeds on the 3700 MHz SA band. While the real-world speed test may vary, it does highlight an important aspect: the measurable gains Verizon's SA deployment would bring about.
T-Mobile was the first to launch the nationwide 5G SA in 2020 and has been leveraging it to bring some significant changes, such as listening for leaks. Verizon, in comparison, has been a little snail-paced in its approach, but its efforts to catch up to the competition are quite evident. The timing of this initiative is also telling since Apple just launched its new wearables that have RedCap support, but only work with SA networks. The move by Verizon could be pointing towards the network aiming to be ready for the next wave of devices, and could just be the beginning of building networks that future products would depend on.
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