New Delhi Smartphone brands are gearing up for upgrades to existing 5G smartphones to support standalone (SA) 5G networks, amid Reliance Jio’s plans to launch SA networks.
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said last month that most telcos are deploying non-standalone 5G (NSA) in a hurry to launch. On the other hand, Jio SA will launch 5G.
In NSA mode, only the RAN (Radio Access Network) is upgraded to 5G, while the core network remains on the existing 4G infrastructure. On the other hand, both RAN and core network have been upgraded to 5G for SA mode. The 5G core includes virtualized, software-based network functions, allowing telcos to meet diverse network needs that are not possible in the NSA version of 5G. Jio is expected to launch SA 5G services from Diwali at the end of October, while Airtel plans to roll out its 5G services on NSA mode in the same month.
According to experts, most 5G phones in India support the NSA 5G network, but once the update rolls out, consumers will be able to connect to SA 5G. The upgrade will be rolled out just like any other over-the-air (OTA) update to the core software on the smartphone. Among the top five smartphone vendors, Xiaomi, Oppo and Realme are among the brands that are working on the SA 5G update. Samsung and Vivo declined to comment.
“All the 5G devices we have launched in the past year support the 2100MHz, 1800MHz, 900MHz and 3300-3800 MHz bands on NSA mode. The SA mode will require an over-the-air update, which we are working on and hopefully will be rolled out by the time the network becomes operational.”
Oppo India Vice President and Head of R&D Tasleem Arif said that the company is in the process of upgrading existing 5G equipment to SA networks in collaboration with telecom companies. We have worked with these players to create a comprehensive 5G experience. users and become one of the leading players in DSS, VoNR, SA network slicing and other technologies.” A Realme spokesperson confirmed that the company is testing 5G devices with the telco and will release updates gradually.
“SA networks help realize the true potential of 5G networks. With a 5G core, the SA network allows for low latency, high-speed communication,” said Sachin Kalantri, senior director of product marketing at chipmaker Qualcomm, which also supplies modems to smartphone makers. Analytics firm OpenSignal’s February 2021 report said. According to the report, an analysis of telco T-Mobile’s SA 5G rollout in the US showed a sharp increase in the time users connected to 5G after the upgrade to SA mode.It said that the SA 5G network showed latency in urban areas compared to NSA The network showed 23.8% improvement.
Latency is the time taken for data to travel from one source to the end point. This is what users refer to as “data speed” on a truly wireless network, while bandwidth allows for how much data can travel at one time.
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