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In an ambitious move following its planned merger with Three UK, Vodafone has announced a significant enhancement of its network capabilities across Scotland, targeting a comprehensive deployment of 5G Standalone (SA) technology. By 2034, the telecom giant aims to cover 89% of Scotland with this advanced network, promising a substantial boost in national productivity valued at approximately £9 billion by the end of the decade.

In 2024, the telecom industry is witnessing a transformative shift driven by evolving customer needs, technological advancements, and environmental concerns. Key trends include the rise of self-service platforms, the migration to VoIP as PSTN becomes obsolete, standalone 5G networks taking center stage, AI integration for enhanced connectivity, and a strong commitment to sustainability. These trends are reshaping how telecom carriers operate and innovate, promising new opportunities in a rapidly changing landscape.

In a groundbreaking move, Parallel Wireless, Inc., a U.S. based Open RAN innovator, has officially launched the general availability of its pioneering 5G Standalone (SA) software stack. The innovative solution, a first of its kind globally, is designed to be hardware-agnostic, allowing operators, private networks, and public safety networks to seamlessly deploy their RAN infrastructure across diverse processor hardware platforms.

As Portugal’s telecom operator Nos marks two years of 5G services, it declares readiness to launch services on a new 5G standalone infrastructure. Despite the slower than expected progress, Nos’s move signifies a key contribution to the sector. Intriguingly, the viability and potential benefits of this new infrastructure remain a matter of debate. With collaborations with Nokia and Ericsson, Nos envisions a surge in ultra-low latency services.

5G technology is quickly escalating into an exciting, innovative space, largely due to a process called network slicing. This technique enables a vast number of dynamic network slices, each with unique attributes defined by its user. Despite being in the primary stages, an array of business opportunities are on the horizon like gaming, vehicle-to-everything (V2X), IoT, and mobile edge computing, as the technology advances. Critical remote services, such as remote robotic surgeries requiring ultra-reliability over latency, become possible with robust and reliable 5G slices.

Transferring 5G workloads to the public cloud is proving slower than expected, leading financial firm Dell’Oro to adjust its growth predictions for 5G standalone (SA) solutions down. Despite this, a growth rate of 65% over five years is still anticipated. However, the slow adoption of 5G SA by mobile network operators and enterprises has led to a cautious approach. Hyperscale cloud providers look set to hold just 6% of total market revenue in the next five years, underscoring the remaining untapped potential in the 5G SA market.