Vodafone, A1 Group and Ericsson have established the first 5G Standalone (5G SA) international roaming connection between two different operator groups.

The connection, between Vodafone in Germany and A1 in Bulgaria, aims to enhance the responsiveness and reliability of roaming services for customers, such as businesses with operations in multiple markets.

The companies said through the collaborative project they were able to seamlessly support the data connectivity of a mobile subscriber from A1 Bulgaria, roaming on Vodafone Germany’s 5G SA network using a standard device.

The combined engineering team also demonstrated that superior voice roaming was possible, which, together with immersive surround sound, is expected to be supported by smartphones in the future.

5G SA incorporates 5G technology in both the network core as well as the radio antennas.
The telecoms partnership said that this means low latency industrial applications and new services like private ‘network slicing’ for enterprises and public sector organisations can be delivered faster and more reliably across the entire connection.

When applied to roaming services in the future, the firms said customers can experience the same benefits when travelling, including in busy areas such as city centres and at main transport hubs.

In the future, the companies said that 5G SA roaming could enable picture messaging, video streaming, and fast data services in the future and could simultaneously connect many augmented reality or virtual reality headsets for use at major events, whether in-country or across multiple markets.

Monica Zethzon, head of solution area core networks at Ericsson, said that there are over 60 live or deployed 5G standalone networks worldwide.

“As more 5G SA networks go live, users globally will expect the superior service and high standard of security they receive on their home network to be offered seamlessly when travelling,” she added. “Roaming for 5G standalone is an essential part of the future of telecoms in a world where service quality expectations are high, and we are looking forward to working with collaborators like Vodafone and A1 Group to make it happen.”

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