Today, 11:48 AM by Rich Brome @rbrome.bsky.social
updated today, 11:49
OpenSignal has released a report that provides new insights into the deployment of 5G SA (Stand-Alone) technology by major carriers in the United States. While all three major US carriers report “national” deployment of 5G SA, the reality is dramatically different from what one might assume. 5G SA means connections that exclusively use 5G technology, as opposed to 5G NSA (Non-Stand-Alone), which relies on a 4G network to help establish 5G connections. 5G SA promises not only an easier and more modern connection, but performance advantages such as lower latency. In fact, OpenSignal’s report finds that – across all three carriers – latency and download speeds improve significantly with 5G SA connections, reflected in an overall “Consistent Quality” score that improves by 8-10% with 5G SA, compared to NSA connections. The difference in specific metrics is even more dramatic. For example, with T-Mobile, 5G SA delivers 84% better download speed, 47% better upload speed, and 31% better latency. But despite claims of “national” deployment of 5G SA, the vast majority of AT&T and Verizon customers are still connected to 5G NSA far more often than 5G SA. In fact, AT&T customers with a 5G phone only have access to 5G SA 4.4% of the time, on average, while for Verizon that number is 20.2%, and for T-Mobile, 71.2%. These stark differences reflect T-Mobile’s multi-year lead in deploying and emphasizing 5G SA technology.
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