Optus switches on 5G Standalone

After close to a year of testing, including customer trials to get it just right, we’ve launched our 5G Standalone network.

5G standalone allows the network slicing, cloud orchestration, edge computing and self-healing networks that will progressively elevate mobile connectivity’s capabilities.

Sounds awesome doesn’t it, but what does it really all mean and how can you benefit from it?

The next frontier of 5G, 5G Standalone is 5G in turbo mode: pedal to the floor, flying around corners with a boot full of capability.

With 5G Standalone, there is no reliance on the 4G radio and core network. It is run over the 5G core and unlike 5G non-standalone it uses 5G to communicate from the device to the base station, allowing more devices to communicate simultaneously at higher speeds. It is this ‘standalone’ aspect, with no anchoring to 4G infrastructure, that makes its capabilities and characteristics so incredible.

I expect you’re wondering what the benefits of 5G Standalone are and why we even need this new capability. Well, at Optus, we are always looking at how we can harness the power of technology to benefit our customers.

And there are benefits aplenty with 5G Standalone. Ones that, in the future, can be tailored to customer’s needs, whether they are an individual or a large-scale enterprise.

While it’s still early stages for 5G Standalone and we are still in the process of building out more infrastructure to support it, here are some examples of what we expect 5G Standalone will deliver.  

For consumers

Right now, if you’re a consumer, you’ll be able to access Optus 5G Standalone on selected plans with a 5G SIM in a compatible handset such as a Samsung S22 or OPPO X3. Over the next few months, more handset manufacturers are expected to offer 5G Standalone capability on their devices.

5G Standalone will provide a greater 5G coverage footprint which means you’ll be able to connect to 5G in more places. As the technology matures, you will see even faster speeds, greater reliability and lower latency. These capabilities combined will create the perfect environment for delivery of richer user experiences – great news for online gamers looking to get the edge over the competition with better ping rates, or those who want to immerse themselves in AR, VR and XR experiences.

For business

The incredible responsiveness and bandwidth of 5G Standalone allow its unique future capabilities like end-to-end network slicing, ultra-reliable low latency and network orchestration to really kick in.

With network slicing you will be able to access a unique slice of 5G Standalone. Slicing the network into different virtual segments allows each slice to be uniquely configured to optimise speed, latency and other attributes important to our customers’ requirements. This will offer increased flexibility, maximum efficiency and, for enterprises, the opportunity to improve operations through automation.

As the name suggests, network orchestration, underpinned by 5G Standalone, is a bit like having a conductor in an orchestra. In the same way the conductor controls what instruments play when, network orchestration looks at the business needs and sets up the network to deliver on those requirements.   

There’s a lot to look forward to with 5G Standalone. This is where all the exciting next-generation technologies we keep hearing about really come to life, like driverless cars and remote surgery. As our 5G Standalone network matures, we will see even more use cases, perhaps even some that we never thought possible. So, strap in as we switch on the 5G Standalone engine and move into 5G turbo mode!