Although 5G Standalone (SA) promised to revolutionize connectivity with ultra-low latency, network slicing, and massive IoT, industry progress in North America has been slower than expected. This delay is primarily driven by a lack of dedicated spectrum, the lower price tag of upgrading LTE via Non-Standalone (NSA) architectures, and a slow ecosystem evolution toward advanced features such as dynamic network slicing.

To overcome these hurdles, this white paper presents a pragmatic, ecosystem-aligned roadmap focused on modernizing and monetizing 5G SA deployments. The core objective of this ATIS initiative is to accelerate adoption by prioritizing uplink-centric applications aligned with current operator readiness, reducing integration friction across domains, and promoting intent-based automation frameworks.

This white paper provides a comprehensive overview of the 5G SA landscape, structured to address immediate deployment realities and future architectural evolutions. The scope of this paper encompasses the following core areas:

• Commercial Value Realization
• Ecosystem Gaps and Realities
• Strategic Recommendations
• AI-Driven Modernization

By aligning the ecosystem around these prioritized objectives, this white paper aims to provide the strategic guidance necessary to advance 5G SA from a foundational infrastructure upgrade into a highly scalable, value-driven platform for differentiated enterprise and mission-critical services.