BT Group has confirmed that it will turn on its standalone 5G network, also known as ‘true’ 5G, later this year.
BT’s chief technology officer Howard Watson reportedly confirmed the development to CNBC, which comes after BT conducted network slicing trials with Ericsson and Qualcomm.
It’s been a busy time for British airlines. BT announced in February that the iconic BT Tower in central London would be sold to MCR Hotels for £275m.
Standalone 5G
Shortly after, BT (and Vodafone) shut down their respective 3G networks in the UK.
Now, BT has told CNBC that it plans to launch its first so-called standalone 5G network in 2024.
BT chief technology officer Howard Watson said: “Other people are talking about it too.” “They’re talking about it. But we’re working to build the right ecosystem, the right set of devices.”
Watson made the remarks in an interview with CNBC at the Mobile World Congress technology trade show in Barcelona, Spain.
The development comes after BT demonstrated network “slicing” in collaboration with Ericsson and Qualcomm. Network slicing is a configuration that allows you to create multiple networks on the same common physical network infrastructure.
“We have already confirmed that the SIM cards our customers have in their current 5G devices can operate in 5G standalone,” Watson told CNBC. “So once we determine that we have enough critical mass to make a real proposal, and we also have some slices behind it, we will launch it, and that will be later this year. ”
At the moment, both Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 have already deployed 5G standalone solutions in the UK.
BT’s EE has yet to launch its own standalone network and is reportedly waiting to see if Apple’s new iPhone 16 will support 5G standalone in Europe when it launches this fall. I haven’t launched a standalone network.
What does that mean?
But what exactly will a 5G standalone network bring to the average user?
According to CNBC, 5G standalone networks offer users a slice of the network, or a specific amount of bandwidth with the promise of a certain amount of latency.
Each network slice is effectively an isolated part of the network designed to meet the requirements demanded by a particular application.
For example, if a gamer needs an ultra-low-latency connection to play games competitively, 5G standalone can deliver 9-10ms of latency, which is close to the latency you get with an HTTP connection to your home. This ensures a smooth connection. gameplay experience.
“You might not want it to be 24/7,” Watson told CNBC. “So you could have a very flexible pricing mechanism where you could be available from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.”
“So, rather than having them come and buy ‘standalone,’ doing that in a customer proposition is how we market it,” Watson was quoted as saying.
The development comes as 5G struggles to gain adoption among mobile consumers outside major cities due to sometimes variable 5G speeds and a lack of 5G connectivity in large swathes of the country. I got it.
There also remains a small but vocal minority who mistakenly believe the false health theories surrounding this technology.
