Rakuten Mobile’s Open RAN 5G network leaves something to be desired in terms of both spectral efficiency and performance, according to new testing from Signals Research Group.
SRG conducted the tests over three days in late April, looking at both Rakuten’s 5G and LTE networks. The company’s 5G network is Open-RAN-based, while its LTE network “brings together multiple vendors without strictly adhering to Open RAN specifications,” SRG noted in a report preview. And while Open RAN was “inherently included” in the testing, the use of Open RAN still didn’t “define the results”, SRG explained. Open RAN enables the inclusion of new and multiple vendors, and thus the testing was really, more a test of the vendors providing the Centralized Unit (CU), DU Distributed Unit (DU) and Radio Unit (RU) equipment involved rather than testing of Open RAN itself.
SRG used five smartphones with “unlimited” data usage, but encountered throttling after “relatively minor” usage of 5 GB daily that put a bit of a cramp in its usual testing style, but it was able to remove results from when the throttling kicked in.
“Although the network supported most features associated with a best-in-class 5G network, there are opportunities for meaningful improvements to many of these features,” SRG concluded, particularly in terms of simultaneous scheduling of data packets over 5G and LTE. In particular, SRG observed that “network performance was severely impacted with
HTTP data transfers, degrading performance over both LTE and especially 5G.” Better results were seen with the UDP protocol or while using Ookla’s Speedtest application — but HTTP is what accounts for most Internet-related traffic. With HTTP, SRG said, 5G throughput in both uplink and downlink “fell well short of expectations with both LTE and especially mid-band 5G.”
SRG said that overall, spectral efficiency for Rakuten’s network was highest with LTE only, followed by LTE operating alongside 5G, then by 5G by itself—which it said was due to scheduling inefficiency.
SRG also noted that based on its testing, Rakuten Mobile’s published 5G network coverage map is “a bit generous regarding where it shows 5G to be available.” The firm said that it saw less midband 5G than it would’ve expected, given what it has observed in other markets like the U.S., and that “5G mmWave performance was consistent with the [radio frequency] conditions, but the RF conditions where we found mmWave signals were never optimal.”
SRG conducted its testing using solutions from Accuver Americas (XCAL-Solo and XCAP) and Spirent Communications (Umetrix Data). More detail from Signals Research Group available here.
In other test news:
–PCTel reported revenues of $22.5 million in the first quarter of this year, up more than 27% from the same period in 2021. The company reported a net loss of about $1.5 million, including some restructuring costs related to its ongoing transition of switching to contract manufacturers in China and reducing its headcount in Beijing.
–Dish Network has added Radcom to its list of network vendors; Radcom will be providing real-time network insights for monitoring and analysis of service performance.
–Spirent Communications has launched a new security automation package as part of its 5G Core Automation Platform for its Spirent Landslide solution, building upon the subscription-based, automated test platform that debuted last year. The test company says that the new security automation package “enables service providers to accelerate time-to-market by up to 60% and achieve cost savings of up to 80%.”
“Unlike any of its predecessors, 5G represents a fundamental disaggregation of the network, opening areas of vulnerabilities susceptible to exploits or malicious activity,” said Doug Roberts, GM of Spirent’s lifecycle service assurance business, in a statement. “It is imperative that every 5G operator integrate security-based testing into a continuous test model. Our latest 5G Core Automation offering will help to keep operators protected from potential security impacts.”
–Keysight Technologies unveiled a Double-Pulse Tester, its PD1550A Advanced Dynamic Power Device Analyzer, aimed at supporting the characterization of power modules that are used in electric vehicles, trains, home appliances and aircraft, among other applications. Keysight said that the PD1550A expands upon the capabilities of the company’s PD1500A DPT to enable faster and more detailed testing.
– The test equipment market related to testing for semiconductors, consumer electronics, aerospace and defense, medical and automotive/transportation is expected to grow from about $7 billion this year to $8.8 billion by 2027, a compound annual growth rate of 4.7%. While the Covid-19 pandemic impacted market growth and supply chain disruptions around the world also continue to affect the market, a report by Markets & Markets says that in particular, it expects “swift recovery” for semiconductor testing because of the increase in chip fabrications efforts in order to meet demand.
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