Access this insight with a Premium plan. Contact our sales team to get started.
Report details
5G SA means business – but also consumer
Operators around the world began their 5G deployment efforts with the non-standalone (NSA) version of the technology. However, 2021 has seen 5G standalone (SA) deployments ramp up. As of mid-2021, GSMA Intelligence counted 89 announced SA launches and deployment plans. The fact that 38% of 5G operators have already committed to SA is no surprise. After all, the added functionalities enabled by SA are key to delivering on the 5G promise of fully supporting enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable, low-latency communications (URLLC) and massive IoT use cases.
Support for the full set of 5G use cases helps explain why operators cite SA as the most important 5G network feature for enterprise success. Yet, it is also informative to explore if and how the technology can support consumer use cases.
Report details
5G SA means business – but also consumer
Related research
Reshaping networks: from a 5G core to an agentic core
Building on previous reports on the evolution of core networks in the 5G-Advanced and AI eras, this report explores what agentic AI means for the mobile core. For the mobile core, most key objectives are unchanged: building future-proof networks that can support a growing and diverse range of endpoints (users, devices and applications) while efficiently delivering intelligent services at scale – all underpinned by a monetisation imperative. But new dynamics have entered the space, from the rise of agentic AI to the sharp focus on sovereignty and mission-critical connectivity. As such, a fresh review of the evolution of mobile core networks is needed.
The State of 5G 2026
This report analyses the state of 5G, seven years after its commercial launch, using GSMA Intelligence’s 5G Connectivity Index to benchmark 46 markets across 5G infrastructure and services. It shows broad convergence across the foundation components (coverage, affordability, adoption), but reveals a widening gap on advanced capabilities, including 5G standalone (SA), 5G‑Advanced, uplink performance, fixed wireless access (FWA), IoT and RedCap.
5G in Malaysia: driving a fast-growing tech economy
Malaysia is emerging as one of Southeast Asia’s most strategically important digital economies, underpinned by strong government support, rising enterprise technology investment and one of the region’s most advanced 5G rollouts. 5G adoption in Malaysia now at around 50% of the mobile customer base, meaning the country has the infrastructure underpinning to drive enterprise transformation.
Authors
How to access this report
Annual subscription: Subscribe to our research modules for comprehensive access to more than 200 reports per year.
Enquire about subscriptionContact our research team
Get in touch with us to find out more about our research topics and analysis.
Contact our research teamMedia
To cite our research, please see our citation policy in our Terms of Use, or contact our Media team for more information.
Learn moreRelated research
Reshaping networks: from a 5G core to an agentic core
Building on previous reports on the evolution of core networks in the 5G-Advanced and AI eras, this report explores what agentic AI means for the mobile core. For the mobile core, most key objectives are unchanged: building future-proof networks that can support a growing and diverse range of endpoints (users, devices and applications) while efficiently delivering intelligent services at scale – all underpinned by a monetisation imperative. But new dynamics have entered the space, from the rise of agentic AI to the sharp focus on sovereignty and mission-critical connectivity. As such, a fresh review of the evolution of mobile core networks is needed.
The State of 5G 2026
This report analyses the state of 5G, seven years after its commercial launch, using GSMA Intelligence’s 5G Connectivity Index to benchmark 46 markets across 5G infrastructure and services. It shows broad convergence across the foundation components (coverage, affordability, adoption), but reveals a widening gap on advanced capabilities, including 5G standalone (SA), 5G‑Advanced, uplink performance, fixed wireless access (FWA), IoT and RedCap.
5G in Malaysia: driving a fast-growing tech economy
Malaysia is emerging as one of Southeast Asia’s most strategically important digital economies, underpinned by strong government support, rising enterprise technology investment and one of the region’s most advanced 5G rollouts. 5G adoption in Malaysia now at around 50% of the mobile customer base, meaning the country has the infrastructure underpinning to drive enterprise transformation.
- 200 reports a year
- 50 million data points
- Over 350 metrics
