Over the past year, O2 has been quietly switching on 5G Standalone (5G SA) across parts of the UK.
We previously covered the launch of O2’s first ever portable 5G standalone private network and while much of the public conversation around 5G focuses on speed, 5G Standalone represents something far more important for businesses: a fundamentally different type of mobile network.
This shift lays the groundwork for more reliable, responsive and scalable mobile connectivity — and opens the door to new business use cases that simply weren’t possible on 4G or earlier 5G networks.
What Is 5G Standalone?
Most 5G services currently available in the UK operate as 5G Non-Standalone (NSA). In simple terms, that means that they use 5G radio technology but it is delivered across the existing 4G core network behind the scenes.
What’s different about 5G Standalone (5G SA) is that it removes that dependency entirely. With 5G SA both the radio network and the core network are fully 5G. This allows the network to behave very differently — delivering lower latency, improved efficiency, and much greater flexibility for business-critical services.
It’s less of an upgrade, and more of a rebuild.
Why 5G Standalone Matters to Business Users
1. Ultra-Low Latency
Latency is the delay between sending data and receiving a response. 5G SA is designed to reduce this dramatically.
For businesses, this means:
- Smoother VoIP and Microsoft Teams calls
- Faster response times for cloud applications
- Improved performance for remote desktops
- Real-time collaboration without noticeable lag
For organisations that rely on cloud-first working, the difference is immediately noticeable.
2. More Consistent Performance
One of the biggest advantages of 5G Standalone is consistency, not just peak speed. Because 5G SA no longer falls back to 4G infrastructure, it avoids many of the congestion points that can impact performance during busy periods.
The result:
- More stable connectivity in high-density locations, even at peak times
- Greater performance during the working day, providing consistency for mobile-first teams
- Improved reliability for critical communications, improved call quality and browsing/ app functions
This is particularly valuable for field-based staff, logistics teams, construction, healthcare, and multi-site businesses where unpredictable connectivity can directly affect productivity and service delivery.
3. Network Slicing: A Game Changer in the Making
One of the most important capabilities enabled by 5G Standalone is network slicing.
This allows the network to:
- Allocate dedicated capacity to specific services
- Prioritise business traffic over consumer usage
- Deliver different performance levels on the same physical network
Over time, this opens the door to:
- Guaranteed service levels for critical applications
- Secure, isolated connectivity for IoT and operational systems
- Mobile connectivity that behaves more like a private network
4. Built for IoT and Connected Devices
5G SA is designed to support large numbers of connected devices efficiently, making it ideal for IoT deployments.
Business benefits include:
- Real-time asset tracking
- Smarter monitoring and automation
- Improved battery efficiency for connected devices
- Greater scalability as deployments grow
As more businesses adopt connected technology, this capability becomes increasingly important.
Is 5G Standalone Just About Speed?
Speed does improve, particularly with uploads, and downloads on 5G SA have even been tested at around 1Gbps in ideal conditions. However, speed alone isn’t the headline benefit.
For business users, the real advantage is predictable performance under load:
- Less variation during peak times
- Faster response, not just faster downloads
- A more consistent experience across applications
In other words, it’s about reliability rather than raw speed tests.
What 5G Standalone Means for Your Business
5G Standalone isn’t something most businesses need to react to overnight, but it does change how mobile connectivity should be viewed going forward.
Now is the right time to ask some questions about how you can incorporate 5G SA into your business and drive greater efficiencies and productivity:
- Review how mobile connectivity fits into your wider IT and communications strategy
- Identify which applications rely on low latency, real-time access, or consistent performance
- Whether current devices and tariffs are ready to take advantage of 5G Standalone as coverage expands and upgrade devices where required
- Consider mobile connectivity as part of your resilience and cloud planning, not just a backup option
As 5G Standalone becomes more widely available, it enables mobile networks to support workloads that previously depended on fixed connectivity. This marks a shift away from mobile being a “fallback” service, towards a primary, business-grade connection capable of supporting critical operations.
O2’s rollout of 5G Standalone lays the foundation for what comes next, from more advanced O2 business mobile services to new business applications that require reliable, low-latency connectivity. For businesses, the opportunity isn’t just faster data, but a more dependable and flexible way of connecting people, systems and sites.
Need help understanding how 5G Standalone fits your business?
At Communications Plus, we help organisations cut through the noise and understand what’s changing, what matters, and how to prepare — without overcomplicating things.
Speak to us about your business mobiles strategy today 📞 01744 412 342
Send us a message and we’ll get back in touch.
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