Signals Flash!

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  • Signals Flash!
    Sweet 16!
    September 8, 2020
    SRG conducted the industry's first independent benchmark study of 5G NR MU-MIMO using a test network (100 MHz @ Band n78) on the Ericsson campus in Plano, TX. Ericsson provided critical logistical support but provided no financial compensation. SRG...
  • Signals Flash!
    Deep in the Heart of DSS
    August 17, 2020
    In Dallas, AT&T is commingling LTE and 5G NR into a single radio channel (10 MHz @ 885 MHz), thereby allowing the operator to allocate precious network resources to 5G NR and LTE smartphones sharing Band 5 (LTE) and...
  • Signals Flash!
    "Growing Pains" Meets "Good Times" - The Crossover Edition
    August 7, 2020
    On August 4th, T-Mobile USA announced that it had launched 5G NR nationwide with a standalone (SA) network architecture. Shortly thereafter, we dropped nearly $1,500 on a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra at a nearby T-Mobile store to do some...
  • Signals Flash!
    How Low Can You Go?
    January 30, 2020
    In this Signals Flash! we focus exclusively on 5G NR coverage, how it compares between the two operators’ networks as well as with their advertised coverage map.  We also cover why our results (and the published coverage maps) almost...
  • Signals Flash!
    RAN #86 Update
    December 12, 2019
    We just finished attending the RAN #86 plenary in Sitges, Spain.  3GPP put a partially tied bow on R16 from a RAN1 perspective.  Overall, R16 will likely slip by 3 months.  3GPP also somewhat solidified the contents of R17. ...
  • Signals Flash!
    5G Summit
    October 22, 2019
    Key Highlights Include the Following: Smooth Sailing. Not surprisingly, vendors felt the transition from LTE to 5G went relatively smoothly.  Market hype helped since it drove the ecosystem of device suppliers who didn’t want to get left behind.  We tend...
  • Signals Flash!
    Digging Deeper
    July 30, 2019
    Although it is evident to us there is a “thermal issue” that is currently impacting at least some 5G smartphones – we’ve seen it with the LG V50 in South Korea and more recently with the Samsung Galaxy S10...
  • Signals Flash!
    IT'S HERE!
    April 5, 2019
    On April 3rd, Verizon Wireless announced that it had launched its 5G NR service in Minneapolis and Chicago. Starting on April 4th, SRG commenced its benchmark study of the network. We are in the very early stages of testing...
  • Signals Flash!
    Death by Tiramisu
    December 13, 2018
    This week (December 10-13) we are attending the RAN#82 Plenary in Sorrento, Italy. This trip follows on the heels of Qualcomm's Snapdragon event in Maui. In this Signals Flash!, we provide our thoughts based on attending these two events,...
  • Signals Flash!
    A 450x Variance in Channel Bandwidth
    September 13, 2018
    This week (September 10-13) we are attending the RAN#81 Plenary in Gold Coast, Australia. With the “completion” of Release 15 back in June (Option 2) and the next major milestones occurring in December, this plenary wasn’t nearly as eventful...
  • Signals Flash!
    Stick a Fork in it!
    June 14, 2018
    This week we are attending the RAN#80 Plenary in La Jolla, California.  SRG has attended 3GPP meetings since the 5G standardization work started in late 2015 and we’ve been a member company of 3GPP/ETSI since 2016.  Given the importance...
  • Signals Flash!
    Signals Flash! Only [Lots of] Time Will Tell
    May 2, 2018
    Last week we attended the Brooklyn 5G Summit, an event that is cosponsored by Nokia and NYU, but which brings together all facets of the industry, including major mobile operators from around the world, chipset companies, vertical markets, academia,...
  • Signals Flash!
    Signals Flash - Fun with Millimeter Wave Signals
    February 1, 2018
    SRG just completed its first, and likely the world's first, independent benchmark study of a 5G network, specifically a 28 GHz millimeter wave system. For this study, we used the Rohde & Schwarz TSME scanner to collect and analyze...
  • Signals Flash!
    YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS AN APPROVED OPTION 3 NSA EARLY DROP
    December 20, 2017
    This week we are attending the RAN#78 Plenary in Lisbon, Portugal.  SRG has attended 3GPP meetings since the 5G standardization work started in late 2015 and we’ve been a member company of 3GPP since 2016.  Given the importance of...
  • Signals Flash!
    Signals Flash - 5G in Americas
    November 20, 2017
    Recently, we attended the 5G America’s analyst workshop in Plano, Texas. We offer some rambling thoughts based on attending the event, along with our perspectives on some major news announcements that have taken place since that trip. We’ll be...
  • Signals Flash!
    Signals Flash - Brooklyn 5G Summit Key Takeaways
    May 3, 2017
    In late April we attended the Brooklyn 5G Summit. Key Highlights A Trip Down Memory Lane.  Following last year’s Brooklyn 5G Summit we published a Signals Flash report entitled, “Lessons Learned from the Three Little Pigs.” Since nearly a full year...
  • Signals Flash!
    Signals Flash - RAN#75 Update
    March 7, 2017
    Although we are barely two days through the RAN#75 Plenary, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, a lot has already happened. Further, the stage is set for some important decisions which will impact Release 15 and Release 16 functionality. We will provide...
  • Signals Flash!
    4x4 MIMO Preview and 5G Standardization Update
    December 20, 2016
    Since we will not be publishing our next Signals Ahead report until early January, we would like to close out the year with a special treat - a sneak preview of our forth coming study on 4x4 MIMO and...
  • Signals Flash!
    I know what I did Last Summer
    September 6, 2016
    With three Signals Ahead reports in the works, but nothing ready to publish, we decided to crank out a Signals Flash to serve as a hearty appetizer for our upcoming feast of benchmark studies and 5G / NR updates. Upcoming...
  • Signals Flash!
    Lessons Learned from the Three Little Pigs
    May 10, 2016
    In this Signals Flash! report we provide our thoughts following our participation at the Brooklyn 5G Summit that we attended in late April. KEY HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: Lessons Learned from the Three Little Pigs.  The greatest risk facing 5G /...
  • Signals Flash!
    Mobile Broadband Down Under
    February 18, 2016
    BACKGROUND INFORMATION Data Consumption.  In total, we generated at least 800 GB of transferred data on the two networks over a period of only a few days – we’ll have an exact tally after we finish the analysis.  We did...
  • Signals Flash!
    Cloud RAN with a Chance of Virtualization
    February 18, 2016
    In this Signals Flash! report we provide a synopsis of the RAN World 2016 event that we attended in San Francisco in late January.   KEY HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: C-RAN – Lovers and Skeptics.  Like certain polarizing political figures, you either...
  • Signals Flash!
    Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
    November 10, 2015
    In this Signals Flash! report we provide what we felt were the key takeaways from the Huawei Global MBB Forum 2015 that we attended last week in Hong Kong. Huawei's Global MBB Forum 2015 was a World Class event that...
  • Signals Flash!
    The Long and Winding Road
    October 9, 2015
    Key Takeaways from the LTE Voice Summit 2015
  • Signals Flash!
    LTE WITH CAT 9 BEATS BEING A CAT WITH 9 LIVES
    May 21, 2015
    Late last week we found ourselves in Guangzhou, China where CMCC is in the initial stages of deploying LTE TDD with carrier aggregation (CA). The operator is currently evaluating the benefits of carrier aggregation in its LTE TDD network...
  • Signals Flash!
    SEEING IS BELIEVING
    March 10, 2015
    Last week we attended Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. We spent the week running from meeting to meeting while trying to absorb everything that we were hearing and seeing. Although we can’t come close to claiming that...
  • Signals Flash!
    SLEEPLESS IN SEOUL
    February 19, 2015
    We just returned from Seoul, South Korea where we spent four days testing the LG U+ LTE-Advanced 300 Mbps network. We used the LG G Flex 2 (Model LG-F510L) smartphone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 to conduct the study....
  • Signals Flash!
    A LAST MINUTE STOCKING STUFFER
    December 22, 2014
    In order to avoid having to respond to more wellness checks, we’d like everyone to know that we are alive and well and that we haven’t forgotten about you and our Signals Ahead research publication. We’ve got several topics...
  • Signals Flash!
    FOUR PAIR OF EYES, TWO PAIR OF EARS, AND ONE HEAD OF HAIR
    November 25, 2014
    Last week we attended the LTE North America event in Dallas, Texas. In addition to presenting a subset of results from our VoLTE benchmark study, chairing several sessions, and participating on numerous panels, we also took the opportunity to...
  • Signals Flash!
    WHEN COMETH VoLTE?
    October 27, 2014
    Earlier in the month we attended the Informa VoLTE Summit in “balmy” London. In addition to presenting results from our VoLTE benchmark study during the first day of the event (available for download from our home page), we had...
  • Signals Flash!
    EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!!
    August 13, 2014
    Over a four day period in early August we conducted a benchmark study of SK Telecom’s LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network. We used a Samsung Galaxy S5 Category 6 (225 Mbps) smartphone as well as a Galaxy S5 Category 4 (150...
  • Signals Flash!
    RIP VAN WINKLE IS IN THE HOUSE
    June 30, 2014
    Last week we attended the LTE World Summit in Amsterdam. In this issue of Signals Flash! we provide some highlights and key takeaways from the event. We missed getting out a Signals Ahead report last month but we have...
  • Signals Flash!
    MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2014: AND THE BAND PLAYED ON!
    March 5, 2014
    Last week we attended Mobile World Congress 2014 along with 85,000 attendees and 5,000 protestors who did their best to disrupt the otherwise fast-paced week of events. This Signals Flash highlights a few observations that we made during the...
  • Signals Flash!
    SON UPDATE – NICE WAS NICE!
    October 29, 2013
    Last month we attended Informa’s SON 2013 conference in Nice, France. In addition to chairing Day 2 of the event and moderating a few panels, we had the opportunity to hear from vendors and operators on the topic de...
  • Signals Flash!
    THE DOT – IT’S COOL AS SH&#!
    September 30, 2013
    Ericsson just announced the Radio Dot System to address the indoor coverage and capacity issues that plague all mobile networks. With the first release, the system more closely resembles a hybrid active DAS solution but the implied product roadmap...
  • Signals Flash!
    TWO MORE CHECKMARKS ON THE SRG DRIVE TEST BUCKET LIST
    September 4, 2013
    Signals Research Group (SRG) just returned from a ten day self-sponsored road trip to Asia during which time we had the opportunity to drive test LTE TDD (Japan) and the Carrier Aggregation feature of LTE Advanced Release 10 (South...
  • Signals Flash!
    SETTING THE STAGE FOR LTE-ADVANCED AND CARRIER AGGREGATION
    July 1, 2013
    Last week we attended the LTE World Summit in Amsterdam. In this special issue of Signals Flash! we provide some highlights and key takeaways from the event. Apologies for being late on our next Signals Ahead report, but we’ve...
  • Signals Flash!
    MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2013
    March 6, 2013
    Following this year’s MWC we offer the following key takeaways in an abbreviated format. We discuss each bullet point in more detail on the subsequent pages. In future editions of our subscription-based Signals Ahead reports we plan to delve...
  • Signals Flash!
    Addressing a Huge Opportunity and a Critical Market Requirement…
    February 21, 2013
    Qualcomm announced its entry into the RF front-end (RFFE) market with a suite of new products and a new manufacturing/packaging process called RF POPTM.