Realising 5G’s Untapped Potential: Why the Next Leap in Secure Connectivity Starts Now

It is at this time of year that industry observers and analysts begin outlining the major technology trends for the year ahead, one question is already gaining momentum: “Are we ready for 6G?”

It is a relevant discussion, but it also highlights an important reality: many organisations are still in the process of fully harnessing the capabilities already available within 5G.

While headlines increasingly focus on future-generation networks, the core issue remains unchanged: the full potential of 5G has yet to be unlocked – particularly in sectors where secure, resilient communications are critical, such as public safety, government services, and national infrastructure.

Recent hijacking attempts and communication-layer attacks in parts of Asia illustrate this challenge clearly. As long as legacy 4G-based networks remain the foundation for essential services, adversaries will continue to exploit them.

The Productivity–Security Gap in Current Mobile Networks

Despite years of investment, many mobile operators still under-utilise the capabilities that 5G already brings to the table. Short-term cost pressures continue to push critical traffic back onto 4G, even when more secure and resilient options exist.

The numbers tell the story clearly.

Ofcom’s Connected Nations report shows that while 5G coverage is growing steadily across the UK, 4G remains the dominant technology for end-users, covering more than 99% of premises and accounting for 78% of all mobile data traffic. 

This pattern isn’t unique to the UK. Across Europe, several national regulators have reported similar trends, noting 5G’s most advanced features – low-latency modes, standalone cores, dedicated slices, and the possibility to conceal the user identity with a PQC ready mechanism – remain under-deployed.

In consumer markets, this may be a temporary inefficiency.

In mission-critical environments, it becomes a vulnerability.

Why Mission-Critical Communications Require True 5G Standalone

Emergency services, high ranks civil servants, defence organisations, first responders, and critical-infrastructure operators all rely on communications that must be trusted, immediate, and resilient.

This is precisely what 5G was built for. But part of the challenge is that much of what we call “5G” today is not true 5G at all. In fact, most operators are still running 5G in Non-Standalone (NSA) mode – a combination of 5G radios with a 4G core. While delivering faster speeds, it prevents the activation of the very capabilities that distinguish 5G from previous generations. Features such as network slicing (a network in the network), advanced 5G security, and edge computing simply cannot operate without a full 5G Standalone (SA) core. In practice, this means many of 5G’s most important benefits for mission-critical users aren’t just under-utilised, they’re technically unavailable until networks complete the shift to true SA architecture.

But unless these capabilities are fully implemented – not just available on paper – their benefits remain largely theoretical. Too many organisations are still connected through hybrid infrastructures where the weakest link determines the overall security posture.

It is also important to recognise that the case for 5G Standalone is not solely commercial. Mission-critical users may represent a small share of operator revenue, but the security capabilities unlocked by SA will benefit the entire ecosystem. By under-utilising 5G we are effectively denying ourselves the security architecture required to defend against modern threats. In a world where cyberthreat augmented by AI is growing exponentially, this is no longer a passive delay in technological progress; it is an active decision to tolerate avoidable vulnerability. 

A Pragmatic Path Forward: Strengthening Today’s 5G Networks

Instead of rushing headlong into the 6G conversation, we should first maximise the platform we already have. That begins with fully activating the advanced security features of 5G. Operators and governments need to accelerate the shift to standalone cores, secure control channels, and dedicated slices for mission-critical users so that 5G’s theoretical advantages become operational reality.

The second step is embedding trust at every layer of the network. Perimeter security alone is no longer enough; mission-critical 5G requires true end-to-end protection. This means securing data-in-motion and data-at-rest, protecting virtualised functions, ensuring device identity, and managing cryptographic keys through strong hardware-rooted trust, including HSMs. These are the often-invisible components that determine whether a network can be relied upon when it matters most.

Finally, we must build sovereign, interoperable ecosystems tailored for public-safety users – a capability Thales provides through our Key Management Server which integrates with 3^rd party mission critical application servers. This is not future-tense innovation – it is available today, proving that resilience does not need to wait for 6G. 

Strengthening 5G today is the foundation for tomorrow’s innovation

Of course the potential and promise of 6G are exciting: integrated sensing, AI-native network management, unprecedented spectrum flexibility. But genuine progress begins with unlocking the full potential of 5G, especially for the sectors tasked with protecting citizens and national assets.

We do not need to wait until 2030 to build trusted, sovereign, resilient communications.

We can, and must, start now.