AT&T last week completed the nationwide deployment of its 5G Standalone (5G SA) network.

The milestone was heralded in a blog post by Yigal Elbaz, SVP and network CTO, AT&T.

5G Standalone (5G SA) is seen by many in the industry as the true variant of 5G technology. 5G SA network is not reliant on older mobile generations - it solely uses a 5G core network - and is based in the cloud.

The service increases network capacity, cuts latency, and is suitable for an increased number of connected devices. 5G SA enables network slicing, which allows telcos to offer dedicated services for a host of business use cases.

Despite switching on its 5G network in late 2018, AT&T's initial deployment, like many carriers, was via 5G Non Standalone (NSA), which used a 4G core instead.

"Today, 5G Standalone networks have now reached a level of maturity that enables our nationwide expansion. This growth is powered by an open and virtualized network, which enables us to scale efficiently and foster collaboration within an open ecosystem of partners," said Elbaz.

He notes that the pivot towards 5G SA will enable capabilities such as "faster upload speeds, ultra-low latency, ultra-high reliability, and Edge functions."

"By embracing this open and virtualized network architecture, we are not only modernizing our infrastructure but also unlocking significant advantages for our customers and partners," he added.

AT&T didn't note which vendor partners it has worked with to deploy 5G SA across the US, though the carrier did sign a lucrative $14 billion Open RAN contract with Ericsson in 2023.

The carrier joins its rivals T-Mobile and Verizon in deploying 5G SA services in the U.S. T-Mobile launched its 5G SA network back in 2020, while Verizon did the same two years later.