I am sure the readers might have heard and read about these two 5G deployment modes. NSA is a 5G network in Non-Standalone Mode, and the SA on the other hand is a 5G network in Sandalone Mode. I plan to use this note as an opportunity to explain the concepts as simply as possible so that readers can understand the real challenge that we face in India from the point of view of deploying fully capable robust 5G networks. But before we dive into details, let’s first review the basics.
5G Non-Standalone (NSA)
In this mode, the foundation of the 5G network is the 4G underlay. All 5G devices need to first lock in the 4G network for them to be able to get access to 5G services. In order words, no access to 5G is possible without the underlay 4G. This is how the network looks pictorially.
