5G: THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!

Vol 37: Scotty, We Need More Power! A benchmark study of LTE CBRS and 5G Mid-Band Coverage

11/30/2023 | 47 pages
Price: $1,395.00

SRG just completed its 37th 5G benchmark study. For this endeavor we collaborated with Accuver Americas, Rohde & Schwarz, and Spirent Communications to conduct an independent benchmark study of LTE CBRS (Band 48) coverage and performance, and how it compares with 5G Band n77, as well as the LTE FDD anchor band.

Highlights of the Report include the following:

Our Thanks. We did this study in collaboration with Accuver Americas (XCAL-M and XCAP), Rohde & Schwarz (TSMA6 scanner) and Spirent Communications (Umetrix Data). SRG is responsible for the data collection and all analysis and commentary provided in this report.

Our Methodology. We used two Galaxy S23 smartphones on the Verizon network, testing in locations where we knew there were collocated CBRS and mid-band 5G radios. We disabled 5G on one smartphone, which resulted in the network pushing as much data as possible over LTE CBRS whenever possible. By driving around a select number of sites we were able to map out coverage and performance of each technology.

A [somewhat] rich man’s hot spot capacity solution. If we limit the analysis to close distances from the cell site (we quantify) then CBRS does a reasonably decent job of providing additional capacity. However, the inferior spectral efficiency and limited total channel bandwidth means 5G Band n77 is far superior.

A poor man’s coverage solution. By mapping out each technology’s coverage and calculating distances to the serving cell site, we show that CBRS is impractical for macro network coverage due to its low power limitations.

No Judgement. We have no opinion on CBRS use cases involving FWA and private enterprise. Our only observation is that we think CBRS is highly underutilized for the private enterprise use case. Trying to minimize interference with multiple users of the spectrum only makes sense when there ARE multiple users of the spectrum in the same area. No Navy frigates were encountered during our drive tests.

The Details. It wouldn’t be a Signals Ahead report if we didn’t break down the results into all the underlying factors, including distributions and cross correlation plots of the major RF, Physical and Layer 3 parameters. We also geo bin most results when looking at probability of coverage. We even include lots of pretty pictures!