Although the deployment momentum of 5G standalone networking (SA) is increasing, actual progress is still slow. The Dell’Oro Group, a research institution, pointed out that currently only 71 mobile network operators (MNOs) have launched 5G SA services for consumers worldwide, accounting for about 10% of the more than 700 operators worldwide. Even more surprisingly, as we enter the second half of 2025, only 5 new 5G SA network deployments have been added globally, a significant slowdown compared to 12 in 2024, 15 in 2023, and 19 in 2022.

Dell’Oro Group Research Director Dave Bolan stated that although we are currently in the sixth year of the 5G SA era, deployment progress is still lagging behind. He added that other operators have planned to launch 5G SA networks in the coming years, but did not provide specific timelines, including Bouygues Telecom and SFR in France, Bharti Airtel in India, MTN in Nigeria and South Africa, Lotte Mobile in Japan, and Vodacom in South Africa.

Despite the slow deployment speed, 5G SA is driving operators to invest in mobile core network (MCN) equipment. In the second quarter of 2025, the growth of 5G SA users and deployments led to a year-on-year increase of 31% in the 5G MCN market, and the entire MCN market also grew steadily by 19%. Dell’Oro has therefore raised its annual year-on-year growth forecast for 2025 to 10%. The agency expects 5G MCN revenue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6% from 2024 to 2029.

It is worth noting that despite Western pressure to exclude Huawei, this Chinese equipment supplier still ranks first among MCN suppliers after excluding the Chinese market, followed by Ericsson, Nokia, and ZTE.

With the maturity of 5G SA networks, more 5G SA elements are entering the market, such as New Radio (NR), RedCap, and network slicing. Bolan pointed out that dynamic network slicing “provides users with the performance they need on demand, such as in specific locations or wireless broadcast scenarios. Static network slicing is used for fixed wireless access and critical task services that require full-time performance enhancement.

Operators clearly see network slicing as an important way to tap into the potential of 5G SA networks and see no reason not to directly market “network slicing” to customers, even if the concept initially requires some explanation. The recent example is T-Mobile US, which has just launched a new enterprise super mobility plan that combines “nationwide network slicing,” security services including Threat Protect, and access to the recently launched direct to device satellite service T-Satellite supported by Starlink.

This self proclaimed ‘non operator’ company has already provided T-Priority services specifically designed for emergency personnel on 5G network slicing, and supports other use cases such as portable slicing for activities and video call solutions. T-Mobile’s parent company Deutsche Telekom is also using 5G network slicing to support its 5G+gaming service, and recently announced that it will integrate the service with Nvidia’s cloud gaming platform GeForce Now starting this fall.

In June, Orange announced that Ericsson will provide orchestration solutions to enable automatic and dynamic configuration of network slicing capabilities. This French operator is already offering its 5G SA network slicing to support services such as fixed wireless access (FWA) for residential users and dedicated bandwidth for small and medium-sized enterprises and enterprise customers.

Despite slow deployment progress, industry research institutions remain optimistic about the future development of 5G SA. The 5G core network operator survey of Heavy Reading (now sister company Omdia of Light Reading) predicts that 5G SA will rapidly expand globally.