If 5G Standalone (SA), based on a cloud-native 5G core, was supposed to introduce ‘true 5G’, remarkably few operators have seen the need to reach this milestone. Only 39 worldwide, according to new estimates from dell’Oro, have deployed 5G SA commercially. Since the main commercial justification for the challenging migration to SA revolve around enterprise services, it is clear that a better business case needs to be established, and operators need improved confidence that a cloud-native platform, capable of supporting slicing and 5G-Advanced capabilities as they emerge, really will deliver new revenues and profit margins. Meanwhile, it’s that stage in the lifecycle of a mobile network generation when the operators start to question the validity of the 3GPP’s standards process.…