Italian Navy 5G Trial Challenges Skepticism Over Standalone Technology's Real-World Value

Ericsson, Leonardo demonstrate mission-critical applications as industry debates whether 5G SA delivers on promises seven years after initial deployment.

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), international defense company Leonardo, and the Italian Navy have successfully conducted a maritime connectivity test using an Ericsson 5G Standalone system, demonstrating practical applications for the technology even as questions persist about its commercial adoption in consumer markets.

The trial enabled connectivity between naval units engaged in day and night training scenarios on the open sea, showcasing the technology's potential for mission-critical operations.

A completely self-contained end-to-end Ericsson 5G SA network – comprising Ericsson Ultra Compact Core and Ericsson Massive MIMO Radio Access Network products and solutions – was installed on board the Italian Navy's amphibious landing ship San Giorgio, which served as the lead unit during the experimentation campaign. Ericsson 5G SA customer premises equipment (CPE) was installed on board a second unit, the Multi-Purpose Combat Ship Raimondo Montecuccoli.

Leonardo and Ericsson collaborated in the EDF 5G COMPAD project and demonstrated its outcomes during the Italian Navy's Operational Experimentation (OPEX) 2-25 in the Gulf of Taranto.

Using Ericsson's 5G Standalone connectivity and Leonardo's NINE encryption solution, the trial enabled secure, real-time exchange of classified and unclassified information between two naval units, including full situational awareness from the Combat Management System and video streams from 12 unmanned systems processed via the AI Brain platform.

The OPEX validated the performance, security, and resilience of 5G SA for on-board connected systems, while also showing how a unified 5G network can optimize spectrum usage compared to multiple standalone communication systems operating on unlicensed and potentially overlapping bands with interference risks.

Patrick Johansson, Senior Vice President and Head of Ericsson Europe, Middle East and Africa, says:

"The Italian Navy is seeking the best possible connectivity solutions for its related needs, and we are proud to work with them towards that goal. Italy's central Mediterranean location, with an exclusive economic zone spanning more than 500,000 square kilometers of sea, means the Italian Navy plays a strategically important role in Europe."

Freddie Södergren, Head of Mission Critical Networks, Ericsson, says:

"This successful trial with Leonardo and the Italian Navy represents a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to advancing defense capabilities through 5G technology. As an integral part of Ericsson's defense portfolio, our 5G platform is designed to meet the rigorous demands of the sector. This collaboration not only demonstrates the versatility of dual-use 5G in critical operations, but also highlights how enhanced connectivity at sea can significantly strengthen naval communications and operational effectiveness."

Real-World Applications Counter Consumer Market Skepticism

While a recent analysis from Light Reading questioned whether "anyone in the real world cares about 5G standalone," citing limited consumer uptake and operators' struggles to monetize the technology, evidence from mission-critical sectors tells a different story.

The article highlighted that despite 1.7 billion 5G SA connections globally in 2025, major operators like BT have struggled to extract premium pricing for the technology, ultimately including it in standard plans. It also noted that operators like AT&T have seen minimal revenue increases despite nationwide SA rollout, with mobile service revenues rising just 3.4% year-over-year – barely ahead of inflation.
However, the Italian Navy trial demonstrates that 5G Standalone's value proposition extends far beyond consumer smartphones. The technology's capabilities – including network slicing, ultra-low latency, enhanced security, and dedicated spectrum management – prove transformational in specialized applications where reliability and performance are non-negotiable.

5G SA Proving Ground: Mining, Public Safety, and Defense

Beyond maritime operations, 5G Standalone is demonstrating measurable value in several critical sectors worldwide:

• Mining Operations: In Australia, mining companies have deployed private 5G SA networks to enable autonomous vehicles, remote equipment operation, and real-time monitoring in underground environments where traditional connectivity fails. Rio Tinto and BHP have implemented 5G SA solutions that improve worker safety while increasing operational efficiency through automated drilling and hauling systems.
• Public Safety and Emergency Response: FirstNet in the United States has prioritized 5G SA deployment to provide first responders with dedicated network slicing capabilities, ensuring that emergency communications remain operational even during network congestion. During major incidents, this technology allows police, fire, and medical services to maintain guaranteed bandwidth separate from consumer traffic.
• Smart Port Operations: The Port of Hamburg in Germany has implemented 5G SA to coordinate automated container handling, enabling real-time tracking and AI-driven logistics optimization that has reduced vessel turnaround times and emissions.
  Critical Infrastructure Protection: Energy companies across Scandinavia are deploying 5G SA networks for remote monitoring and control of power grids and renewable energy installations, where the technology's low latency enables rapid response to system anomalies.

Why 5G Standalone Matters

The distinction between 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) and Standalone architectures is more than technical nomenclature – it represents a fundamental shift in network capability.

While NSA 5G relies on existing 4G core infrastructure, 5G SA implements an entirely new core network architecture that unlocks capabilities impossible with previous technologies:

• 
  Network Slicing: The ability to create multiple virtual networks on a single physical infrastructure, each with guaranteed performance characteristics. This allows a port authority, naval vessel, or mining operation to maintain dedicated, secure connections that cannot be compromised by consumer traffic.
• Ultra-Low Latency: Critical for applications like autonomous vehicles, remote surgery, and defense operations where milliseconds matter. The Italian Navy trial demonstrated real-time exchange of classified information and video streams – applications where even slight delays could compromise operational effectiveness.
• Enhanced Security: The 5G SA core provides improved encryption and authentication capabilities essential for defense, critical infrastructure, and enterprise applications handling sensitive data.
• Edge Computing Integration: 5G SA's architecture enables processing at the network edge, reducing the distance data must travel and enabling applications like AI-powered unmanned systems demonstrated in the Italian Navy trial.
• Spectrum Efficiency: As the OPEX trial showed, unified 5G SA networks optimize spectrum usage compared to multiple overlapping communication systems, reducing interference and improving reliability.

A Technology Seeking Its Market

The apparent contradiction between consumer market indifference and mission-critical sector enthusiasm reflects different value propositions. For consumers choosing between smartphone plans, the incremental improvements of 5G SA over NSA may not justify premium pricing – a reality operators have acknowledged by including the technology in standard offerings.

However, for organizations operating autonomous mining equipment in remote locations, coordinating naval operations at sea, or managing emergency response during disasters, 5G Standalone's capabilities represent transformational – rather than incremental – improvements.

The same Italian Navy experimentation – officially called the Italian Navy open-sea Operational Experimentation (OPEX Task 2-25), within the framework of the Multi-Domain Operational Experimentation Committee – included several other ecosystem partners testing at-sea capabilities.
Ericsson also collaborated with the Italian Navy as part of 2024 NATO trials, when an end-to-end 5G SA network was installed in the Italian Naval base at Taranto.

As Ericsson projects 4.1 billion 5G SA connections by 2031 – representing 65% of all 5G subscriptions – the technology's success may ultimately be measured not by consumer smartphone upgrades, but by its ability to enable applications previously impossible with existing connectivity solutions.
The Italian Navy's successful trial suggests that while the "real world" of consumer markets may remain ambivalent about 5G Standalone, the real world of mission-critical operations is finding compelling reasons to invest in the technology's unique capabilities.