5G: THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!

Vol 49: 5G Games - a Benchmark Study of Korea Telecom's 5G Network Including a Comparison between 8T8R RRUs, 32T32R and 64T64R MMUs

04/21/2025 | 40 pages
Price: $1,895.00

SRG just completed its 49th 5G benchmark study. For this endeavor we collaborated with Accuver Americas to conduct a benchmark study of Korea Telecom’s 5G SA network in Seoul, South Korea where Samsung Networks is the infrastructure supplier. Of note, we did a detailed comparison between 32T32R radios and 64T64R radios to evaluate their relative performance differences.

Highlights of the Report include the following:

Our Thanks. We did this study with the support of Accuver Americas. Accuver provided us with its XCAL5 drive test software and XCAP post-processing software. We used XCAL5 to collect the chipset diagnostic messages and we used XCAP for the post processing of the data and subsequent analysis. Accuver has been a trusted partner with us for nearly two decades. SRG is responsible for all analysis and commentary provided in this report.

The Methodology. We leveraged information regarding the PCI values and geo coordinates of 32T32R and 64T64R radios in KT’s 5G SA network. We did drive testing during the day and again at night involving loops with a heavy concentration of one or the other hardware configuration. We filtered the results and then looked at various downlink performance metrics, including performance as a function of loading and distance to the gNB.

The Results. With daytime loading, 64T64R achieved a meaningful double-digit increase in spectral efficiency over 32T32R. Relative gains were higher at greater distances from the gNB and with loading, suggesting our results understate the true capabilities of using more antenna elements.

5G Network Downlink Performance in South Korea Rocks. Based on separate testing over a larger area of Gangnam, we found that RB normalized downlink speeds increased by over 3x since we last tested in Seoul back in 2019. Consequently, we observed the highest SU-MIMO spectral efficiency we have ever encountered (double digits bps/Hz on an average basis)

5G Network Uplink Performance in South Korea Rolls. Not to be outdone, the uplink performance was just as stellar, even without UL-MIMO (something the network now supports). In 2019, uplink data speeds seldom hit 75 Mbps. In 2025, uplink data speeds seldom dropped below 75 Mbps.