Did you know that South Korea was the first country in the world to adopt 5G? This was quickly followed by the US. However, it seems that despite the US being early to the 5G game, it could be falling behind. This is according to Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm, who warned that the US could be falling behind China in the rollout of 5G Standalone technology.
Ericsson CEO says the US is falling behind China
In terms of 5G deployment, China was about half a year late to the game compared to South Korea and the US. However, this was back in 2019. Fast forward nearly six years, and it’s a very different story.
Based on the latest figures, China has over 4 million 5G base stations to date. This is why Ericsson CEO feels that the US is falling behind. According to Ekholm, “China has built the world leading 5G standalone network. They are now starting to build new applications leveraging the capabilities in the network.” This includes things like factory robotics that can now be deployed more economically.
The CEO’s comments came after he had praised the US market, calling it the company’s most important one. “I would say our most important market is the US. It’s a large market, but it also has front-runner customers. If we’re going to lead on innovation, we need to work with front-runner customers.”
What is 5G Standalone?
Now, some of you might be confused. There’s a good chance that your phone’s status bar shows 5G on it. This would suggest that you’re connected to a 5G network, right? To a certain extent, that is true. However, there is also a good chance that you’re connected to a 5G network that uses an existing 4G LTE core network as its “anchor.” This is what’s known as 5G Non-Standalone.
A 5G Standalone network means it uses a completely new 5G core network. This allows it to unlock the full potential of 5G and offers lower latency. This is what Ekholm’s comments meant when he said that China’s use of 5G Standalone has allowed them to leverage the capabilities of the network.
As it stands, T-Mobile is the only major US carrier that has announced a nationwide 5G Standalone deployment. According to Ekholm, this has allowed the carrier to monetize its network well.
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