5G mobile phones have SA function enabled by default, and new consumer terminals are maturing rapidly

[[402070]]

Since China Telecom announced in November 2020 that it had taken the lead in building the world's largest 5G SA network and putting it into commercial use, the three major domestic telecom operators have successively announced that they have entered the 5G SA commercial stage, which means that 5G development has entered a new stage. Recently, 5G commercial use has made new progress. Liu Liehong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, announced at the "517" World Telecommunication Day Conference: In order to promote the large-scale application of the independent networking (SA) mode, the 5G independent networking (SA) function will be enabled by default for newly connected 5G terminals from May 17. This move will accelerate the maturity of new 5G-based consumer terminals.

5G terminals default to SA function

During the "517" World Telecommunication Day that just passed, Liu Liehong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that the 5G independent networking (SA) function will be enabled by default for new 5G terminals to accelerate the maturity of new consumer terminals based on 5G. This is another clear policy requirement for 5G terminals after the requirement that 5G terminals must support SA/NSA dual-mode from January 1, 2020.

5G networks are divided into non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA), and 5G mobile phones are also divided into NSA and SA dual-mode. Since January 2020, all newly launched 5G mobile phones support SA mode. Currently, the shipment volume of mobile phones supporting NSA/SA dual-mode accounts for 99.9%, and all terminals have the hardware conditions to support SA first. However, 5G users before May 17 this year need to manually modify the phone system settings to use the SA function.

In order to allow users to better experience the 5G network, the three major operators have begun to require the SA function to be enabled by default, and do not allow the SA switch to be set. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology requires that the 5G SA function be enabled by default for new 5G terminals, which will help promote the large-scale application of the independent networking mode.

For users who purchased 5G mobile phones that only support NSA networking functions in the early stage of 5G commercialization, there is no need to worry. The three major operators have already stated that NSA networking will also be provided in parallel with SA networking in subsequent 5G network operations.

New consumer terminals are maturing faster

5G applications are the original intention and ultimate goal of 5G network construction. From "accelerating the implementation of 5G application scenarios" to "enriching 5G scenario applications", as my country's 5G network construction is rolled out on a large scale, various 5G application scenarios are emerging in an endless stream, especially on the B-side, where 5G has been implemented to varying degrees in various sub-sectors such as industrial Internet, autonomous driving, financial credit, and telemedicine. In the C-end market, application scenarios have not yet been implemented on a large scale, far from meeting market demand.

The SA function is turned on by default for newly launched 5G mobile phones, which may accelerate the maturity of new consumer terminals.

In 5G SA mode, higher-speed uplink data transmission can be achieved to meet the needs of high-speed uplink services such as high-definition video surveillance and sports broadcasting. Under the same power consumption conditions, the uplink rate of SA can reach twice or even higher than that of NSA.

For example, when broadcasting a football match via VR, the signal is transmitted in real time through the 5G non-independent networking mode. The video may experience delays, freezes, and frame drops when uploading, while the 5G independent networking mode does not have such problems.

5G commercial use enters a new stage

Since the commercialization of 5G, my country's 5G network deployment has been rapidly rolled out, and SA construction has been intensified. As of the end of March 2021, my country has built 819,000 5G base stations, accounting for more than 70% of the world, and built the world's largest 5G independent networking network, which has covered all prefecture-level cities. As of the end of April, the number of 5G mobile terminal user connections reached 310 million, accounting for more than 80% of the world.

Since China Telecom announced the large-scale commercial use of 5G SA in November 2020, the other two major operators also fully realized the commercial use of 5G independent networking by the end of last year. So far, SA networks have been fully commercialized in my country and are now in the popularization stage. With the optimization and use of the SA mode, it indicates that my country's 5G process has entered the ultimate development path of SA. At the same time, it is also expected that my country's 5G network experience will soon reach a new level.

In fact, as early as 2018, China Telecom released the world's first 5G technology white paper that comprehensively expounded on 5G technology views and strategies, and took the lead in building the world's first cross-provincial and cross-domain large-scale test network with SA as the main and SA/NSA hybrid networking. To date, the 5G SA customized network released by China Telecom has realized digital functions such as connection, computing and AI intelligence, and has long been committed to actively promoting the maturity of the 5G SA industry, focusing on 5G SA core capabilities, vigorously carrying out 5G core technology and business application innovation, and creating high-quality SA commercial deployment capabilities.