Understand 5G SA and NSA in One Minute

We have heard a lot about SA and NSA modes of 5G network, but few people really understand what they are.

Today, I'm going to give you an overview of both of them in easy-to-understand language, in the hope that you'll understand exactly what they're all about.

Let's start with a story.

In Los Angeles, there is a restaurant owner named Jack.

The restaurant he owns is called Restaurant No.4. The chef is Core Fourt.

The restaurant has been doing well, but as clients have become overcrowded, it has been unable to meet the needs of customers.

So, Jack plans to expand his business.

However, expanding the business requires a lot of capital, and he shouldn't invest blindly. Therefore, Jack thinks of several ways to expand.

The first option (plan A) is to open a brand new restaurant, i.e., to rent a new storefront for the new restaurant (Let’s call it Restaurant No.5), and to hire a new chef (whose name is Core Fife).

This option is the simplest and most intuitive solution, and the new chef will be able to get the most out of his cooking skill at the new restaurant.

But it is also the most expensive.

The second option (plan B) is to rent a new storefront for the new restaurant named Restaurant No.5, but not hiring a new chef. Core Fourt takes charge of both Restaurant No.4 and No.5.

The plan B can save investment, but it’s quite troublesome and difficult to operate. On top of that, Core Fourt is probably too busy to take care of both restaurants.

So, Jack begins to struggle between the two solutions.

Well, from the story above, you have probably guessed it right away -- the chef in this example is the core network; the storefronts are base stations; No.4 restaurant is 4G, and No.5 restaurant is 5G.

Plan A

Plan B

In fact, plan A in the story is standalone (SA) network mode. On the other hand, plan B is non-standalone (NSA) network mode. However, what makes the 5G network more complex is that both SA and NSA network modes can be divided into multiple types.

But why comes these different network modes? In short, money is the key reason.

If a telecom service provider has enough capital to invest, and would like to build a pure, perfect 5G network that provides the coolest experience for users, it's as simple as building all new 5G core network and base stations adopting SA mode. The network is completely independently from 4G.

But not all service providers are well capitalized, especially considering that the investment on 5G is heavy. In order to facilitate the gradual enjoyment of 5G, in addition to SA mode, 3GPP has also designed a lot of NSA modes. In total, two SA modes and eight NSA modes have been defined.

Each of these little boxes represents a way of networking.

Up to now, I believe that you’ve had a basic understanding of SA and NSA.

To learn more about the various SA and NSA network modes, you can click and read the article 5G NSA and SA Network Modes

Some might be wondering what impact will it have on users if the carrier's 5G network is SA or NSA?

First of all, as mentioned above, SA network can provide better user experience than NSA, such as higher speed and lower latency.

Secondly, when choosing different 5G terminals and products including mobile phones, 5G CPE, MiFi, Dongle, 5G cellular signal boosters, etc, users need to confirm whether they support SA and NSA modes. When 5G smartphone first came out, for example, many of them only supported NSA, and therefore could only be used in NSA networks, but not SA networks. Now, more and more products can support both SA and NSA. For example, Hocell's all series of 5G products including 5G CPE,5G MiFi,5G USB Dongle and 5G mobile signal amplifiers support both SA and NSA network modes simultaneously.