VTel Wireless (VTel) today announced it has chosen Ericsson as its 5G Core and Radio Access Network (RAN) provider, supporting the rollout of a 5G Standalone (SA) network, marking a transformative milestone for rural wireless connectivity in the United States.

With this deployment of 5G Core and RAN from Ericsson, VTel is positioned to become the nation's first rural carrier to support fully native 5G Standalone VoNR (Voice over New Radio) roaming with nationwide communications service providers (CSPs). The new deployment will mean subscribers of other national CSPs will be able to maintain 5G SA quality connectivity in the rural areas served by VTel. Unlike today's roaming agreements, which rely on 4G LTE VoLTE underlays for voice, the new core network will enable end-to-end 5G roaming with VoNR. This removes legacy dependencies and delivers a modern, fully native 5G experience for nationwide users.