5G NR Benchmark Study Vol 24: Rakuten 4G and 5G Network Performance - ResearchAndMarkets.com

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "5G NR Benchmark Study Vol 24: Rakuten 4G and 5G Network Performance" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The publisher just completed its 24th 5G NR benchmark study. For this endeavor they collaborated with Accuver Americas and Spirent Communications to conduct an independent benchmark study of the Rakuten LTE, 5G, and 5G mmWave networks in Tokyo, Japan.

Highlights of the Report include the following:

Methodology

Testing took place in April in Tokyo, Japan over a period of three days. The publisher leveraged five smartphones, including two smartphones with DM logging capabilities. They conducted full buffer downlink and uplink data transfers, using HTTP and UDP protocols. Tests involved walk tests and stationary tests. They also did latency/jitter stress tests using a low bit rate UDP data transfer to the Umetrix Data server, which was also located in Japan.

Why it matters

The 5G portion of the Rakuten network leverages the Open RAN network architecture. From the perspective of this testing, the Open RAN architecture didn't define the results we obtained, but the architecture did enable the inclusion of new vendors, which are not typically associated with today's 5G networks. This study largely focuses on the performance of these respective components and their respective vendors.

Key Features Supported

The publisher found that many of the key features commonly found with today's traditional LTE and 5G networks are supported in the Rakuten network. There was concurrent LTE and 5G data transfers in the downlink and uplink directions (PDCP combining), including with 5G mmWave. Likewise, there was 256QAM and 44 MIMO on both LTE and mid-band 5G. There wasn't features, such as LTE carrier aggregation - the operator only has a single LTE band - while mmWave uplink was limited to a single 100 MHz channel, as are most networks in the world.

Room for Improvement

Although the network supported many key features, the publisher found opportunities for improvement. Schedule inefficiencies, in particular with the HTTP protocol, resulted in 5G spectral efficiency which lagged that of the operator's LTE network and which was well below what was experienced in other networks tested. LTE performance, when operating in parallel with 5G (PDCP combining) also underperformed relative to LTE when there wasn't a 5G radio bearer. 5G mmWave performance was consistent with the RF conditions, but the RF conditions where we found mmWave signals were never optimal.

Key Topics Covered:

1.0 Executive Summary

2.0 Key Observations

3.0 Performance Results and Analysis

3.1 Downlink HTTP Walk Test

3.2 Uplink HTTP Walk Test

3.3 HTTP and UDP Comparative Analysis

3.3.1 Downlink

3.3.2 Uplink

3.3.3 Speedtest Versus HTTP

3.3.4 Simultaneous

3.3.5 mmWave (Band n257)

3.3.5.1 Downlink

3.3.5.2 Uplink

3.3.6 Downlink and Uplink Latency Stress Test Results

4.0 Test Methodology

5.0 Final Thoughts

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ts4tnl