The Chronicles of 5G Non-Standalone: An Empirical Analysis of Performance and Service Evolution
Fifth Generation (5G) systems have been commercially available worldwide for at least a couple of years, with mid-band Non-Standalone (NSA) being the deployment mode preferred by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). Empirical analyses have provided so far key insights on 5G NSA performance from differen...
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IEEE
2024-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10753472/ |
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| author | Giuseppe Caso Mohammad Rajiullah Konstantinos Kousias Usman Ali Nadir Bouzar Luca De Nardis Anna Brunstrom Ozgu Alay Marco Neri Maria-Gabriella Di Benedetto |
| author_facet | Giuseppe Caso Mohammad Rajiullah Konstantinos Kousias Usman Ali Nadir Bouzar Luca De Nardis Anna Brunstrom Ozgu Alay Marco Neri Maria-Gabriella Di Benedetto |
| author_sort | Giuseppe Caso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fifth Generation (5G) systems have been commercially available worldwide for at least a couple of years, with mid-band Non-Standalone (NSA) being the deployment mode preferred by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). Empirical analyses have provided so far key insights on 5G NSA performance from different perspectives, but most of these works consider short time periods to drive conclusions. In this paper, we investigate the evolution of 5G NSA considering deployment, performance, and services, including positioning. We perform a large-scale measurement campaign in two phases (2021 and 2023), covering six MNOs in two European countries, Italy and Sweden. Our results show significant differences in network deployment and performance, with increasing network density and frequencies but, at times, decreasing downlink throughput performance. For the latter, we identify worse radio coverage and connectivity issues as root causes. By using a standardized methodology, we also evaluate the performance of new services such as real-time gaming and augmented/virtual reality, and reveal that stable 5G connectivity is key to meet their requirements. Similarly, we highlight the negative effects of roaming on performance. Finally, we evaluate 5G fingerprinting positioning systems and show that a higher accuracy is achievable in denser 5G deployments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-52b83241e74d4c7c9433a9a6b7fea4f1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2644-125X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-52b83241e74d4c7c9433a9a6b7fea4f12024-11-29T00:02:33ZengIEEEIEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society2644-125X2024-01-0157380739910.1109/OJCOMS.2024.349937010753472The Chronicles of 5G Non-Standalone: An Empirical Analysis of Performance and Service EvolutionGiuseppe Caso0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0611-5637Mohammad Rajiullah1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2765-7873Konstantinos Kousias2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5058-4532Usman Ali3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0239-802XNadir Bouzar4https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9417-1294Luca De Nardis5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9286-8744Anna Brunstrom6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7311-9334Ozgu Alay7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5800-2779Marco Neri8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0603-889XMaria-Gabriella Di Benedetto9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1523-5083Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Karlstad University, Karlstad, SwedenDepartment of Mathematics and Computer Science, Karlstad University, Karlstad, SwedenDepartment of Informatics, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunication, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunication, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunication, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Mathematics and Computer Science, Karlstad University, Karlstad, SwedenDepartment of Mathematics and Computer Science, Karlstad University, Karlstad, SwedenRohde & Schwarz, Mobile Network Testing Unit, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunication, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ItalyFifth Generation (5G) systems have been commercially available worldwide for at least a couple of years, with mid-band Non-Standalone (NSA) being the deployment mode preferred by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). Empirical analyses have provided so far key insights on 5G NSA performance from different perspectives, but most of these works consider short time periods to drive conclusions. In this paper, we investigate the evolution of 5G NSA considering deployment, performance, and services, including positioning. We perform a large-scale measurement campaign in two phases (2021 and 2023), covering six MNOs in two European countries, Italy and Sweden. Our results show significant differences in network deployment and performance, with increasing network density and frequencies but, at times, decreasing downlink throughput performance. For the latter, we identify worse radio coverage and connectivity issues as root causes. By using a standardized methodology, we also evaluate the performance of new services such as real-time gaming and augmented/virtual reality, and reveal that stable 5G connectivity is key to meet their requirements. Similarly, we highlight the negative effects of roaming on performance. Finally, we evaluate 5G fingerprinting positioning systems and show that a higher accuracy is achievable in denser 5G deployments.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10753472/5G mobile systemslarge-scale measurements and analysesperformance and service evolutionuser positioning |
| spellingShingle | Giuseppe Caso Mohammad Rajiullah Konstantinos Kousias Usman Ali Nadir Bouzar Luca De Nardis Anna Brunstrom Ozgu Alay Marco Neri Maria-Gabriella Di Benedetto The Chronicles of 5G Non-Standalone: An Empirical Analysis of Performance and Service Evolution IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society 5G mobile systems large-scale measurements and analyses performance and service evolution user positioning |
| title | The Chronicles of 5G Non-Standalone: An Empirical Analysis of Performance and Service Evolution |
| title_full | The Chronicles of 5G Non-Standalone: An Empirical Analysis of Performance and Service Evolution |
| title_fullStr | The Chronicles of 5G Non-Standalone: An Empirical Analysis of Performance and Service Evolution |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Chronicles of 5G Non-Standalone: An Empirical Analysis of Performance and Service Evolution |
| title_short | The Chronicles of 5G Non-Standalone: An Empirical Analysis of Performance and Service Evolution |
| title_sort | chronicles of 5g non standalone an empirical analysis of performance and service evolution |
| topic | 5G mobile systems large-scale measurements and analyses performance and service evolution user positioning |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10753472/ |
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