After years of incremental progress, 5G Standalone (SA) is finally seeing more meaningful growth. A new report from Ookla shows global SA adoption rising to roughly 17.6% of Speedtest samples by late 2025 — and delivering a clear performance premium in both speed and latency over legacy non-standalone 5G.
North America remains at the forefront of this shift, with carriers driving faster SA uptake than most other regions. But momentum isn’t confined to the largest markets. This week, Telia Norway announced a nationwide commercial 5G SA launch, touting sub-10 ms latency and advanced capabilities like network slicing aimed at industrial, public-sector, and other mission-critical applications.
Still, the broader picture suggests the industry is only in the early stages of realizing 5G’s full potential. Ookla estimates that just around 10% of operators globally have launched commercial SA services so far — underscoring how much runway remains before standalone becomes the norm, and in many cases, before 5G finally lives up to the hype.
Catherine Sbeglia Nin
Managing Editor
RCR Wireless News
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North America leads 5G SA adoption: A new Ookla report reveals that global 5G Standalone (SA) adoption hit ~17.6% of tests by Q4 2025, showing faster speeds and lower latency. North America is outpacing Europe with ~29.9% SA share.
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