- After RedCap 5G watches, what can we expect AT&T and Verizon to launch next?
- VoNR (5G voice) and dynamic network slicing are probably on the way, according to Dell’Oro’s Dave Bolan
- Much will rely on 5G SA-compatible device availability
Now that AT&T and Verizon have made 5G standalone (5G SA) deployments commercially available to the public – finally catching up to T-Mobile in the pure 5G space – what can we expect them to initially launch on 5G SA?
Verizon has previously launched a dedicated 5G slice for first responders while AT&T has had a Reduced Capability (RedCap) network, which can only use 5G SA, available for enterprise users since July.
Fierce asked both operators what they planned to launch now that 5G SA is commercial for them, Verizon had not responded as of press time.
"We’re committed to delivering the best network experience no matter what technology is used," an AT&T spokesperson said. "Every innovation we introduce, including Voice over New Radio (VoNR) is held to our highest standards for quality and reliability. We will launch VoNR when we’re confident it delivers the seamless, dependable experience our customers expect.”
As Fierce previously reported, we might consider Apple 5G smartwatches the spark that led the mobile network operators to finally go public with commercial 5G SA. The watches use RedCap, a 5G IoT technology that uses far less power than standard 5G smartphones and requires 5G SA in order to work.
These 5G Apple watches gave AT&T and Verizon a popular consumer device to hang their 5G SA launches on, after years of using a non-standalone (NSA) network that used 5G radios but a 4G core to manage calls and data.
Dave Bolan, Dell’Oro Group’s research director and mobile core maven, expects that 5G voice and network slicing will be among the next features from the operators. “Besides support for RedCap, we expect announcements on 5G VoNR and dynamic network slicing,” he said.
The move to 5G Voice over New Radio (VoNR) for AT&T and Verizon makes sense. T-Mobile first launched its 5G SA network on 600 MHz in August 2020, followed by its first VoNR markets in June 2022.
Bolan noted that AT&T and Verizon will need to depend on their network readiness and device ecosystem to deliver 5G SA capabilities like VoNR on their network. T-Mobile has had 5G SA-capable smartphones from Apple and Google – as well as other devices – available for several years now. It is not yet clear how many 5G SA devices are available to AT&T and Verizon yet, although presumably it shouldn’t take long for Apple, Google and Samsung to switch their devices to 5G SA for the operators.
5G-Advanced
As T-Mobile has had 5G SA for quite a while, it has recently switched on its first 5G Advanced services, launching the L4S update to cut down on video jitters for both mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA) services.
Bolan expects a similar feature-based 5G Advanced from AT&T and Verizon.
“5G Advanced will naturally evolve,” with the operators adding features that help them monetize their networks further, he said.