Is 5G NSA faster than 5G SA?

Both in urban and rural areas, our T-Mobile users experienced faster average 5G Download Speed on NSA compared to SA , reaching 64.4 Mbps in urban areas and 53.4 Mbps in rural areas.

Devices running Android 10 or higher can support 5G non-standalone (NSA). 5G NSA is a solution for 5G networks where the network is supported by the existing 4G infrastructure . On Android 10, devices can display a 5G icon on the status bar when a device connects to a 5G network.

What are the advantages of 5G NSA and SA networks? NSA makes it easier for network operators to deploy a 5G network as it can reuse the current 4G facilities . Whereas, SA involves a 5G core which can deliver a super-fast and flexible network, ultra-low latency, thus reducing operational costs.

NSA, as the name suggests, is a 5G service that does not ‘stand alone’ but is built over an existing 4G network. SA, on the other hand, allows completely independent operation of a 5G service without any interaction with an existing 4G core.17 Ara 2020