Airtel Talks about Why 5G Nsa is More Sensible Choice

Airtel 5G

If you have been following the talks around 5G, you must have heard there are two types of 5G networks. One is 5G SA (standalone), and another is 5G NSA (non-standalone). These are the two types of 5G networks that telecom operators can roll out. But most of the countries have seen their operators rely more on 5G NSA in the initial days. This is the case with India as well. Gopal Vittal, CEO and MD of Bharti Airtel, during the recent investors’ call with the analysts, explained why Airtel will be starting with 5G NSA and why it is more of a sensible choice over the 5G SA. But before we delve into Vittal’s comments, let’s first understand what the primary difference between 5G NSA and 5G SA is!

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Difference Between 5G SA and 5G NSA

In simple words, with 5G standalone or SA networks, 5G comes as a top layer over the existing 4G layer. Both networks work independently of each other. But with 5G NSA, both the work co-dependently. SA networks are naturally considered more powerful in performance over the NSA networks. Basically, 5G NSA utilises 4G core for providing connectivity. We won’t go deep into the differences between the two. Knowing this much is enough for you to understand why Airtel wants to go with 5G NSA.

Why is Airtel Relying More on 5G NSA

Talking to the analysts, Vittal said one of the major reasons why Airtel is going with 5G NSA is because there is no well-developed ecosystem for SA devices. Another issue which Vittal highlighted was that SA networks could only work effectively when there’s sub-GHz frequencies involved with the 3.5 GHz spectrum.