DENVER – AT&T is still in the process of testing its standalone 5G core in the lab and plans to deploy it when the device ecosystems mature enough, its executives stated at this week’s ConnectX event in Denver.

“We've always said we're going to deploy this 5G when the ecosystem is ready,” said Marachel Knight, SVP of technology and planning operations at AT&T Communications. “Are there devices there to take advantage of that? So, it's a very methodical approach for us.”

Standalone 5G is a rare, well-defined term in the telecommunications industry that succinctly describes itself in a straightforward manner. The 5G core, which enables this framework, allows for a distinct 5G network unencumbered by old equipment, protocols, or standards. 5G isn’t really 5G until it operates in standalone mode.

T-Mobile US announced in the summer of 2020 that it activated the world’s first standalone 5G network operating on a 5G core. 

In the same year, AT&T anticipated starting the standalone 5G core deployment in late 2020, but it got delayed mainly due to the maturity of the broader ecosystem, AT&T executives claim. 

Knight noted that the operator is working through standalone 5G network use cases including standalone core network slicing, increased security, and more.

“It's just an evolution,” she said, referring to the standalone 5G core development. “It's not necessarily a tension … it's more a timing question.”

Despite the immaturity of the device ecosystem, the 5G network is already here for gaming, real-time telemedicine, and more use cases, Knight pointed out. “But there is more opportunity.”

For mid-band 5G spectrum, 120 megahertz will be put in use soon, she added. AT&T earlier announced plans to make use of 120 megahertz by the end of 2023.

She also mentioned the opportunities in reductions in latency and the network edge. 5G already pushes the network closer to customers and supports some real-time applications, but “I think there's a lot more opportunity that we collectively, the ecosystem in the industry can get out of it,” Knight said. 

Although there is more to do in the industry and 5G killer apps remain elusive, people are already talking about 6G. 

AT&T started to develop a roadmap for 6G, Knight noted. “But these things take a long time … so we shouldn't expect that we're gonna have 6G tomorrow.”

“But we are working with the ecosystem and with the industry to start that cycle of standards through the Next G Alliance in particular,” she said, adding that the operator is working with the University of Texas at Austin for a 6G research and innovation center. 

6G is about what’s needed beyond 5G, Knight said. “As you develop 5G use cases and see what may be some of the things that's not covered there, then they will roll into the next standard, but specifically what those things are, I'm not aware of where they are at this point.”