Analyst firms continue to pile on mobile network operators for failing to sell 5G standalone (SA) network benefits, resulting in an overall market malaise toward what should be the genesis of true 5G network capabilities.

The latest call out came from GlobalData, which found few instances of operators that have actually deployed 5G SA architectures also providing a compelling reason why consumers should care.

In looking at 30 5G SA commercial deployments, the research firm noted that “although operators are keen to flag the adoption of standalone 5G in general marketing messages – largely focusing on the improved network quality and capabilities for enterprises – the number of standalone 5G references within consumer 5G service portfolios are few and far between.”

Instead, GlobalData found “many operators marketed standalone 5G very similarly to how operators have been marketing non-standard 5G for years,” which itself has yet mark financial success.

“The lack of effective standalone 5G promotion is a real problem for the future of 5G monetization,” Emma Mohr-McClune, service director at GlobalData, noted in the report. “Standalone 5G will be a vital requirement for a lot of the more exciting 5G use cases, from autonomous devices to commercial augmented and virtual reality.”

Mohr-McClune did tout sustainability as being a possible consumer marketing angle.

For sustainability efforts, she said carriers could position the architecture as providing a “greener, safer, and more reliable” option for wireless technology. This in turn could incentivize consumers to upgrade their devices and services to take advantage of that sustainability potential.

The enterprise market has a shorter path toward success as private 5G networks are already being positioned to take advantage of the architecture.

“Standalone 5G enables enterprises to set up their own, closed private 5G networks to better manage connectivity in ultra-connected working set-ups, such as ports and mines – or even ‘slice’ the network for prioritized levels of service for mission-critical operations,” Mohr-McClune explained. “The benefits, use cases, and return on investment are far clearer.”

The GlobalData report echoed one recently put forth by LightCounting, which tied the tepid deployment pace of 5G SA networks to the industry’s inability to produce compelling use and business cases.

The firm noted that ongoing “headwinds” have limited the deployment of 5G SA networks to just 20 at the end of last year. This was just 10% of the 200 5G non-standalone (NSA) commercial networks deployed worldwide.

Those headwinds are led by “the lack of 5G business cases beyond enhanced mobile broadband combined with some network architecture issues” that continue “to inhibit 5GC SBA [5G core service-based architecture] rollouts.”

“Communications service providers are just sweating their EPC/vEPC [evolved packet core/virtualized evolved packet core] assets, in such conditions, there is no rush to move to 5GC SBA,” the firm explained.