238 operators serving 94 markets worldwide launched commercial 5G services till '22 year-end: S&P Global

New Delhi [India], April 8 : Commercial 5G launches rebounded in the second half of 2022 as operators in developing markets turned on their networks, S&P Global said. Kagan's 5G Tracker lists at least 238 mobile operators serving 94 markets worldwide that had launched commercial 5G services as of year-end 2022.
Kagan is a media research group within the telecommunications, media and technology offering of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
S&P Global reported twenty-four new operators were added to this list in the second half of 2022. Africa had nine new launches in this period, the most since it began tracking 5G launches in 2018. These included Orange in Botswana, Safaricom in Kenya, Societe Francaise de Radiotelephone (SFR) in Reunion, MTN Group in Nigeria and Zambia, Telkom in South Africa, Vodacom Group in Tanzania and Unitel in Angola.
Unlike other regions, Africa has been lagging in fifth-generation mobile system (5G) deployment due to poor existing infrastructure, late 4G adoption, ambiguous regulatory oversight and a variety of economic factors that have precluded companies from investing in the new technology, according to the S&P Global report.
The African markets that have already launched commercial 5G services have done so with strong government support, especially in the release of spectrum and fostering a clear, forward-looking regulatory environment, it added.
As most operators in developed markets have already deployed commercial 5G services, S&P Global said it can expect launches in the succeeding months to come from developing markets in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.
Vodafone Group remains the leading 5G operator worldwide as its recent launch in Tanzania brought its worldwide 5G footprint to 15 markets, S&P Global said. Vodafone, together with other multinational operators such as CK Hutchison Holdings and Orange SA, are shifting gears from initial non-stand-alone, or NSA, to stand-alone, or SA, deployments.
5G standalone (SA) is an implementation of 5G that solely uses a 5G core network, meaning it has no dependency on 4G LTE network control functions, for signalling and data transfer.
At least 48 operators in 30 markets worldwide had launched commercial SA 5G networks as of year-end 2022. Major operators in the US -- AT&T, DISH Network, T-Mobile US and Verizon Communications -- and in mainland China -- China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom Corp -- have already launched SA 5G. Other markets where major operators have deployed SA 5G include Brazil, Canada, Italy, Japan, and Singapore.
The ultimate drivers for the choice of NSA 5G over SA are cost and ease of deployment. According to S&P Global, NSA is cheaper and easier to deploy since it can utilise an existing 4G core network to connect to the 5G radio access network or RAN.
In contrast, SA 5G uses a dedicated 5G core network, which requires heftier investments in new infrastructure and equipment. Deploying NSA 5G is a strategy for some operators to gauge initial demand for 5G before spending money on building an SA network.