SLT-Mobitel has announced this week that it's testing 5G Standalone (5G SA) technology.

The Sri Lankan telco claimed to have conducted the first trial of 5G SA in the country earlier this month.

SLT-Mobitel carried out the trial at its Colombo headquarters on January 12, which it stated was able to deliver speeds of more than 5Gbps.

According to the carrier, the trial leveraged advanced ZTE radio equipment and the Xiaomi 14 Ultra handset, and utilized 3CC Carrier Aggregation, Massive MIMO, and 1024QAM modulation technology employing the C-band spectrum.

5G Standalone, also known as 5G Advanced or 5.5G, operates solely on a 5G Core network and is not reliant on older mobile technologies.

A number of telcos around the world have deployed the technology in the last couple of years, after many had initially launched 5G as Non Standalone, which was reliant on the 4G Core network.

“The successful trial of 5G-Advanced reinforces SLT-Mobitel's commitment to leading Sri Lanka into the next phase of the digital revolution," said Sudharshana Geeganage, chief operating officer of Mobitel Ltd, who noted the technology will play a key role in the country's digitization plans.

In Sri Lanka, 5G is yet to be deployed, though a possible spectrum launch is expected to take place this year.

This hasn't stopped telcos preparing for 5G though, with SLT-Mobitel noting that it has deployed its 5G pre-commercial trial network for customers in Colombo, Kandy, Anuradhapura, Galle, and Jaffna.

Rival domestic telco Dialog Axiata confirmed previously held 5G mmWave trials two years ago.