- Dell'Oro tells Fierce that around a dozen operators have moved to 5G-Advanced
- Recon says it could be 2028 before over 50% of operators update to 5G-A
- The analysts stated that dynamic slicing could be a big advantage of the 5G update
SoftBank Corp. is the latest operator planning to move onto 5G standalone (5G SA) with Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G core. This shift is part of its intention to move to the 6G standard in the 2029-2030 timeframe.
Indeed, 5G SA is the key to monetizing 5G, unlocking 5G-Advanced services and eventually moving to the 6G standard. Operators have said that they want 6G to be deployed on the 5G SA core, so that they don’t have to pay colossal capex to move to a new core network. The problem is, many operators haven’t yet moved off a 4G core and are still managing 5G radios off a 4G control plane.
The state of 5G SA
The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) said in its latest report that at least 85 operators in 47 countries have now launched 5G SA networks. That means that these operators can move to the second phase of 5G, 5G-Advanced, with more sophisticated network slicing, 5G RedCap support and more.
“We’ve identified about a dozen MNOs that have launched 5G-Advanced,” said Siân Morgan, research director at Dell’Oro Group.
“The operators in China: China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom were early adopters of 5G SA and have launched 5G-Advanced,” Morgan said. “In the UEA, Du and e& have also launched 5 G-Advanced, and so has T-Mobile in the U.S.”
On top of those operators, “another 20-30 are working on deploying it,” Recon Analytics analyst Daryl Schoolar told Fierce Network.
“5G Standalone is a requirement for 5G-Advanced, so I expect that most of the operators that launched 5G SA will proceed to 5G-Advanced over the next few years,” Dell’Oro’s Morgan reiterated. She added that dynamic network slicing will provide an opportunity for operators to monetize the network in a new way by allowing network resources to be allocated flexibly.
Dynamic slicing adds some excitement
Dynamic slicing is already getting operators hot under the collar. It is described as “a major improvement” over static 5G network slicing, "which makes it possible to allocate specific resources to satisfy the various quality-of-service requirements of applications," according to "Efficient Real-Time Dynamic Network Slicing for 5G to Meet Diverse QoS Demands," an Oct. 31, 2025, conference paper.1
Siân Morgan of Dell’Oro noted that the AI and machine learning (ML) enhancements “will be a foundation for 6G.”
Ericsson suggested at Mobile World Congress recently that AI is changing the game on core updates expected, with updates coming far faster in the future than the current pace of 3GPP upgrades would suggest.
The pace of operator upgrades to 5G-Advanced, however, will still be molasses-slow for now, suggested Recon's Schoolar. "The ecosystem needed for monetization is not there and is limited due to the low number of commercial deployments," he said. "At the rate of deployment, it could be 2028 before we near 50% of all commercial 5G networks that are also 5G-Advanced."
Source citation:
Aruna, T., Kulkarni, D., Javali, R., Kulkarni, R., Budihal, S.V., Shamshuddin, K. (2026). Efficient Real-Time Dynamic Network Slicing for 5G to Meet Diverse QoS Demands. In: Fong, S., Dey, N., Joshi, A. (eds) ICT Analysis and Applications. ICT4SD 2025. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 1652. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-06691-6_10