5G Standalone demands a new paradigm for network and service testing. It’s integral to release cycles and assurance practices. Testing now requires automation, supported by agile performance / functional testing and active monitoring. Are you ready?

5G Standalone offers significant opportunities for operators and service providers. But it also brings complexity, intense competition, and a requirement for continuous innovation and agility. In turn, this changes the paradigm for on-going testing and validation of network services. How can you ensure that you meet these challenges and remain relevant?

When it comes to the deployment of 5G Standalone (SA) networks, Europe is performing well. Granted China, India, and the United States are leading the way currently, but 5G SA is taking off in Europe.

Vodafone became the first operator to launch 5G SA in June 2023, but since then, Germany activated its nationwide 5G SA network (termed ‘5+’), which covers over 90% of the country.

5G Standalone launches gain momentum

Likewise, France launched its first 5G SA network in June 2024, while BT, trading as EE, launched 5G SA in 15 cities throughout the UK – including London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Slough, Lincoln, and others – in September 2024. 

The launch of 5G SA networks is accelerating. According to GSMA Intelligence, of the 326 5G live networks already launched, 61 of these are already 5G SA networks, with another 89 5G SA networks planned by 2026^[1].

5G SA offers real-time communications, with faster connections and significantly lower latency for applications such as seamless mobile gaming, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR), among others. However, many operators view enterprise applications, such as network slicing, private networks, and massive IoT, as the real 5G SA opportunity.

5G SA offers significant opportunities for operators to provide new, differentiated, dynamic services, and brings new meaning to the phrase ‘agile’.  

But 5G SA, virtualisation of the network, software-defined networking (SDN), and dynamic network slicing also bring unprecedented complexity. While the 5G SA architecture offers unprecedented levels of flexibility, speed, latency, bandwidth, and scalability – including network slices that each offer unique performance parameters for individual customers and applications, and require specific SLAs and KPIs to be met dynamically – managing such a dynamic environment brings significant challenges.

5G SA success requires continuous innovation and agility

As new non-operator entrants create unparalleled competitiveness, it also means that existing providers must continuously innovate to remain agile and relevant. Such agility and innovation requires operators and service providers to embrace DevOps practices – including continuous integration (CI), continuous delivery (CD), and continuous testing (CT).

DevOps, which leads to innovation and agility, demands the design, development, testing, and continual upgrade of software and services throughout the entire lifecycle of that software. In turn, this complexity can only be managed by automation.

It means that the paradigm for telecoms network testing must change entirely in the 5G SA era. How can operators and service providers manage this? How can you ensure that every new service, iteration, or dynamic network slice performance is tested and validated pre-launch, and actively monitored on an on-going basis, with alerts and policies when SLAs and KPIs drop below the expected values?

That’s a big ask. However, Emblasoft Evolver offers the solution to all these challenges. To find out how Evolver can help you navigate the 5G SA journey with confidence, agility, and flexibility download our recent white paper here.

^[1] https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/article/the-case-for-complete-5g/