The full promise of 5G is being left ‘untapped’ thanks to a dearth of 5G Standalone deployments, with entire regions at risk of falling behind, a new industry whitepaper from Ericsson has warned.

The tech communications powerhouse has released its latest study, Next Wave of Mobile Innovation, which contends that those enterprises and governments moving decisively on Standalone (SA) today will secure their position in the economy of the future, while competitors remain trapped with ‘yesterday’s technology’.

The report contends that last year’s 42% spike in 5G subscribers conceals a deeper issue, with over 90% of SA users clustered in just three markets, namely China, India, and the United States, and the few operators and industries using SA tech benefiting from new revenue streams and more sustainable practices.

“Industrial 5G as a part of fundamental telco strategy is the essential component of the digital transformation,” claims the report. 

“But without new capabilities coming in, value will flow out. We expect industrial 5G/6G to generate trillions of dollars over the next decade, and the savviest operators will be active participants in this new revenue stream. Operator’s growth and destiny are tied to their industrial 5G strategy more than ever before.”

Examples of the true, underlying value of 5G are not hard to find, according to Ericsson’s study. The technology has already helped to achieve full automation at the largest and most important seaport in Northern China, Tianjin, as well as improved the safety and efficiency of operations for major mining operations worldwide, after the introduction of autonomous vehicles and remote operations using robotics.

Hospitals, schools, factories and ambulance services across diverse markets are already using 5G as an underpinning technology, while enterprises are using it to power advancements in cloud computing, robotics, and AI, with the benefits being felt across local populations.

Infrastructure is not enough

However, though 5G, and in particular 5G SA are creating new opportunities, Ericsson notes that mobile operators who fail to take a clear-eyed, strategic approach to managing 5G growth in their networks risk being sidelined in the very stack they helped build.

“To maximise their growth, mobile operators must pursue a dual strategy of staying on their 5G deployment roadmap and building enterprise offerings,” Ericsson’s study argues.

“On the 5G front, they should deploy advanced 5G capabilities that enable enterprise applications and services such as standalone 5G, edge computing fabric, private network offerings, features such as slicing, and 5G advanced upgrades to support low latency and massive IoT applications.”

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As well as rolling out 5G infrastructure roadmaps, operators must also prioritise pro-growth and pro-innovation policies, said Ericsson, and work to ensure a greater diffusion of 5G that the firm believes will be central to powering the economy.

In practice, however, success depends largely on how governments choose to advance 5G. Ericsson’s report notes that the US, for example, has fostered a rich ecosystem of 5G-enabled tech thanks to its market-driven approach, while India, driven by fierce competition among operators, is democratising consumer access faster than any other nation.

In a word of caution, Ericsson said that those countries choosing to focus solely on infrastructure deployment will find less traction than those aligning policy, industrial strategy and workforce development, with a stark divide already emerging.

“The window for 5G leadership is rapidly closing,” concludes the report.

“Early adopters don’t just gain a competitive edge—they capture the entire economic ecosystem, creating a powerful gravitational pull that draws talent, investment, and innovation directly to them.

“For late-movers, the cost of delay can be irreversible. Once the skilled workforce, venture capital, and industry attention concentrate around the early leaders, trying to catch up becomes exponentially more expensive—if it’s even possible at all.”