Non-standalone Research Articles

Performance Evaluation of Radio Frequency Visualisation Tool for Wireless Communications: A UNIUYO Campus Case Study

This study was motivated by the challenge of evaluating radio frequency (RF) signal behaviour concerning transmitter and receiver positioning prior to deployment and during troubleshooting. This paper presented the development and testing of a MATLAB-based signal visualisation application to enhance RF signal analysis across various frequencies and terrains, specifically focusing on the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) permanent site and selected locations in Uyo. The application featured three distinct tabs with specialised functions. The first tab integrated campus radio broadcasts at 144.5 MHz and visualised signals for mobile communication standards (2G, 3G, and 4G). The second tab offered a computation interface for selected radio propagation parameters and a tool for converting geographic coordinates from degrees, minutes, and seconds (DMS) to decimal degrees (DD). The third tab was dedicated to 5G testing and deployment. To determine the signal travel extent for each transmitter location, the Longley-Rice and Freespace propagation models were used to represent worst-case and best-case scenarios, respectively. The results, illustrated graphically, demonstrated the application’s effectiveness and versatility in RF signal analysis and 5G deployment planning. The study explored two primary 5G deployment strategies: the standalone (SA) approach and the non-standalone (NSA) technique. The SA strategy employed mid-band frequency (3.5 GHz) point-to-multipoint stations within clusters. The application utilised up to 19 transmitters (one main transmitter and 18 repeaters) per cluster. Conversely, the NSA technique integrated 5G technology with the existing 4G infrastructure to enhance coverage. The findings offer valuable insights into optimising 5G deployment in terrains similar to those at the UNIUYO permanent site and Uyo in general.

Empirical analysis of 5G deployments: A comparative assessment of network performance with 4G

The advent of 5G networks has introduced new challenges for network operators, particularly in terms of coverage, capacity, and service quality. Consequently, it is crucial to monitor and assess network performance to detect irregularities and enhance functionality and deployment efficiency. This is especially important for Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G networks, which rely on existing 4G infrastructure and may not fully utilize the advanced capabilities of 5G technology. This study evaluates wireless system/network performance, focusing on key quality indicators and data throughput within typical town settings featuring various operational scenarios. To achieve this, portable smartphone devices were employed to simultaneously measure real-world data from all 5G and 4G networks, providing a comparative analysis across all (three) cellular network providers in the area.Results highlight differing 5G rollout strategies and performance across operators, revealing that broad coverage may struggle with congestion issues, while a tailored deployment approach could yield better results. Additionally, the analysis pinpoints performance challenges related to coverage, throughput, resource utilization, and interference, thus guiding enhancements in 5G network deployments and establishing a baseline for tracking the evolution of 5G performance.

5G Network Deployment Planning Using Metaheuristic Approaches

The present research focuses on optimizing 5G base station deployment and visualization, addressing the escalating demands for high data rates and low latency. The study compares the effectiveness of Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Simulated Annealing (SA), and Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) in both Urban Macro (UMa) and Remote Macro (RMa) deployment scenarios that overcome the limitations of the current method of 5G deployment, which involves adopting Non-Standalone (NSA) architecture. Emphasizing population density, the optimization process eliminates redundant base stations for enhanced efficiency. Results indicate that PSO and GA strike the optimal balance between coverage and capacity, offering valuable insights for efficient network planning. The study includes a comparison of 28 GHz and 3.6 GHz carrier frequencies for UMa, highlighting their respective efficiencies. Additionally, the research proposes a 2.6 GHz carrier frequency for Remote Macro Antenna (RMa) deployment, enhancing 5G Multi-Tier Radio Access Network (RAN) planning and providing practical solutions for achieving infrastructure reduction and improved network performance in a specific geographical context.

Machine learning approach of multi‐RAT selection for travelling users in 5G NSA networks

AbstractThe rapid increment of mobile device usage and the corresponding huge data volume generated afterwards, necessitated the utilisation of the 5G network spectrum. This is deployed today in terrestrial communication in a non‐stand‐alone (NSA) architectural mode; where 5G networks are supported by 4G LTE networks. Hence, the current 5G implementation with the gargantuan number of mobile subscribers, poses challenges to the choice of network Radio Access Technology (RAT) selection between 4G and 5G networks, among available multiple base‐stations to mobile (travelling) users, with respect to their location, bandwidth requirement, and mobility style. Hence, to address the scenario presented above, the authors record live signal measurements of 4G and 5G networks by a travelling user, that transversed multiple 5G NSA base stations. RAT selection implementations were carried out with support vector machine (SVM), deep neural network (DNN), and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithms to select an appropriate RAT between 4G and 5G RATs, for effective resource allocation for travelling users’ requirements. Evaluation of results with standard classification metrics shows XGBoost with overall outstanding accuracy performance at 99.64%.

Empirical Insights into 5G Deployments in Highway Operational Environments and Comparative Performance with 4G

Despite the promising benefits, the integration of 5G, particularly through Non-Standalone (NSA) architectures that rely on existing 4G infrastructures, introduces challenges in maintaining optimal radio network performance and service quality. This study evaluates 4G and 5G radio network performance through empirical field trials across highway operational scenarios, a domain less scrutinized compared with urban environments. By conducting simultaneous measurements and comparing all available networks, this research focuses on dissecting the performance of critical quality indicators to gauge the intricacies of radio network behavior in high-speed travel conditions. Our findings illuminate distinct behavioral patterns, highlighting the unique challenges and optimization opportunities in these scenarios. Variability in signal strength across the highway routes underscores the influence of geography and infrastructure on coverage, while the relative stability in signal quality suggests the networks’ capability to maintain signal quality amid fluctuating strength. Interference results indicate effective management of signal interference, crucial for high-quality links, whereas latency and throughput metrics highlight a lag behind anticipated goals for reduced latency but promising data rates. This study not only showcases the variances in network quality and performance, thus pinpointing areas for operator-specific enhancements, but also emphasizes the comparison between the robustness of 4G infrastructures and the challenges in optimizing 5G networks.

Economic assesment of cellular technologies deployment under carrier aggregation techniques for inter radio access technologies

Purpose: The deployment of the fifth-generation (5G) of wireless communications that was launched worldwide in 2020 is entering its final stage in some countries. In this stage carriers apply new techniques that are boosting network performance without heavy investments of the initial build of the infrastructure. This techniques include but are not limited to carrier aggregation, 5G Non-standalone(NSA) and standalone(SA) NR modes, mmWave frequency range and higher bandwidth. Given considerable research in the area about economic and financial validation of the 5G, this work is an extension of a techno-economical assess of the cellular networks under these technologies.
 Method: Computer simulations, theroretical derivations.
 Findings: Major factors such as spectral efficiency, intercell interference and deployment cost are revisited, and updated to fit realities of the current technological progress. Finally, we use abovementioned theory and present simulation results from the city center of Kyiv city using recently developed pysim5G network simulator.
 Paper type: Scientific and practical.

Sensitivity Options of 5G Non-Standalone Deployment Strategies: A Simulation Model for Emerging Countries

Deploying cutting-edge 5G technology is a major challenge for mobile operators in emerging countries, facing hurdles on both the technical and economic fronts. This study provides specific ways in which mobile companies in developing countries can use 5G technology to benefit economically. This study utilizes a sensitivity option with a techno-economic analysis (TEA) simulation model to evaluate business options influencing successful 5G non-standalone (NSA) deployment in these markets, using Indonesia’s Bandung City as a case study. The analysis finds that Bandung requires 172 5G gNodeBs to meet traffic demand. Further, the 5G NSA deployment delivers strong key performance indicators (KPIs), with good signal synchronization received power (SS-RSRP) and signal-to-interference noise ratio (SS-SINR). Sensitivity analysis identifies the gNodeB amount as the most critical parameter impacting overall 5G NSA deployment feasibility. Overall, the analysis indicates mobile operators can recover investments after 3 years and 10 months, providing evidence for the viability of 5G NSA deployment in Bandung’s urban area.

Empirical performance analysis and ML-based modeling of 5G non-standalone networks

Fifth Generation (5G) networks are becoming the norm in the global telecommunications industry, and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are currently deploying 5G alongside their existing Fourth Generation (4G) networks. In this paper, we present results and insights from our large-scale measurement study on commercial 5G Non Standalone (NSA) deployments in a European country. We leverage the collected dataset, which covers two MNOs in Rome, Italy, to study network deployment and radio coverage aspects, and explore the performance of two use cases related to enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC). We further leverage a machine learning (ML)-based approach to model the Dual Connectivity (DC) feature enabled by 5G NSA. Our data-driven analysis shows that 5G NSA can provide higher downlink throughput and slightly lower latency compared to 4G. However, performance is influenced by several factors, including propagation conditions, system configurations, and handovers, ultimately highlighting the need for further system optimization. Moreover, by casting the DC modeling problem into a classification problem, we compare four supervised ML algorithms and show that a high model accuracy (up to 99%) can be achieved, in particular, when several radio coverage indicators from both access networks are used as input. Finally, we conduct analyses towards aiding the explainability of the ML models.

Security Vulnerabilities in 5G Non-Stand-Alone Networks: A Systematic Analysis and Attack Taxonomy

5G networks, pivotal for our digital mobile societies, are transitioning from 4G to 5G Stand-Alone (SA) networks. However, during this transition, 5G Non-Stand-Alone (NSA) networks are widely used. This paper examines potential security vulnerabilities in 5G NSA networks. Through an extensive literature review, we identify known 4G attacks that can theoretically be applied to 5G NSA. We organize these attacks into a structured taxonomy. Our findings reveal that 5G NSA networks may offer a false sense of security, as most security and privacy improvements are concentrated in 5G SA networks. To underscore this concern, we implement three attacks with severe consequences and successfully validate them on various commercially available smartphones. Notably, one of these attacks, the IMSI Leak, consistently exposes user information with no apparent security mitigation in 5G NSA networks. This highlights the ease of tracking individuals on current 5G networks.

Comparison of Current Consumption and Data Rates in 5G NSA over FR2 and FR1 Bands

This paper presents a comparison of current consumption in a 5G User Equipment (UE) under NonStandAlone (NSA) deployment when submitted to different scenarios, such as the number of antennas (MIMO), Carrier Aggregation (CA), and modulation schemes. The comparison will occur over the same network parameters but for Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2) bands. Measurements were taken in laboratory using a setup with test stations for the simulation of LTE and NR Cells and a Control PC with Rapid Test Design (RTD) for the communication between the UE and the test stations, as well as the measurements itself. The results obtained through laboratory measurements show that FR1 scenarios cause less current consumption than FR2 scenarios. Also, the relationship between the electric current consumption and data rates is presented in both scenarios when the UE is connected over FR1 and FR2 network bands.

Fifth Generation Non-Standalone to Standalone Wireless Architecture Reconstruction Solution and Implementation: South Africa Context

The wireless mobile communication industry has evolved immensely over the past five decades, starting from the voice-centric 1G technology to the current data-centric 5G technology because of the increasing data traffic and the need for higher data speed rates. To provide the initial experience of 5G technology, many network operators worldwide started their deployment with the Non-Standalone (NSA) solution to mainly reduce the cost and time. 5G NSA solution already provides lower latency, higher network capacity, and bandwidth compared to the legacy network, however, there is growing oncern about its reliance on the 4G core network, capability, and the long-term migration plan to 5G Standalone (SA) network solution. This paper discusses a brief review of 5G evolution, standardization formulation, deployment strategies, security enhancement, challenges, and presents the reconstruction of 5G NSA to SA solution implementation. Furthermore, a 5G field test will be performed to analyze the user experience under the NSA NR in South Africa, and key practical challenges facing the South African MNOs from the perspective of business and technical challenges will be discussed with recommendations.

A Review of the 3GPP-Compatible Model of 5G in-Band Emissions in Uplink Resource Allocation in Hybrid Network

In-band emission represents a critical metric for assessing the reliability of a mobile communication network and ensuring quality of service (QoS) for end users. In the 5G network deployment, due to the limited availability of frequency spectrum, mobile users and internet-of-things (IoT) devices will transmit on the same frequency bands, necessitating more stringent in-band interference management to facilitate interference-free communication. In order to ensure that high-power user equipment (UEs) accessing the shared 5G uplink channel are able to communicate without disruption and without interfering with low-power devices, it is imperative to undertake in-band emissions analysis and control. This paper explores the issue of in-band emission interference, which pertains to the interference that arises in unallocated sub-bands within a specific bandwidth. Specifically, this investigation delves into the modeling approach and regulated in-band emissions within a non-standalone (NSA) 5G network. To verify compliance with 3GPP requirements for in-band emissions regulations, an over-the-air (OTA) testing system is employed to examine in-band emissions in the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The study employs various resource block distributions, offsets, and modulation techniques within the specified NR channel bandwidth. All simulations are based on 3GPP specifications.

Agent-based modeling and simulation for 5G and beyond networks : A comprehensive survey

Modeling and simulation of telecommunication networks have captivated significant inter-disciplinary attention, notably since the release of the fifth-generation (5G) technology and the heavy public interest associated with its Non-Standalone (NSA) and eventual Standalone (SA) architecture deployment. However, 5G and beyond (5G+) network simulation is rather challenging as the complexity of networks has massively multiplied, given the manifold network intricacies demanded by stringent 5G requirements like mobile mmWave, Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Advanced Channel Coding, and more. Furthermore, the arrival of 5G marks a turning point in the evolution of mobile networks as it progresses towards the softwarization of networks and paves the path for future Artificial Intelligence (AI) native 6G and beyond networks. Consequently, classical simulation techniques have a high risk of becoming insufficient to model the demands of such drastically changing network dynamics, prompting researchers to view 5G+ networks from the perspective of Complex System Science (CSS). We move in that direction as we shed light on Agent-based modeling and simulation as a pragmatic and powerful tool to model 5G+ communication networks. Our approach involves a comprehensive survey of Agent-Based Simulation (ABS) and 5G+ networks, utilizing its insights to dissect the advantages, potential, and challenges of ABS in the context of 5G+ networks. Through proposing a prospective architecture for a simulator and its envisioned evolution into a Digital Twin (DT), we not only offer insights into the lessons learned but also chart out future research pathways in the flourishing domain of 5G+ modeling and simulation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in the literature that tackles the complexities of modeling and simulating 5G+ networks, by adopting an ABS approach.

A comprehensive analysis of the coverage and performance of 4G and 5G deployments

5G New Radio (5G NR), has now been deployed in all available bands: low (<1 GHz), mid (1–6 GHz), and high (>24 GHz), each with a trade-off between coverage and throughput/latency performance. The preceding 4G Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) networks also catching up to 5G mid-band by deploying in the unlicensed 5 GHz (using License Assisted Access/LAA) and the 3.5 GHz Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS). We present a comprehensive analysis of 4G and 5G deployments in Chicago and Miami, focusing on coverage, throughput, and latency performance in low-, mid-, and high-bands, under several scenarios: outdoor, outdoor-to-indoor, and under high temperature. To measure deployed networks, we utilized a scalable methodology with commercial and custom apps to collect detailed signal data (e.g., signal strength, cell ID, throughput) on user device (i.e., smartphones). The analysis based on our measurements yields the following findings: (i) when comparing the throughput and latency performance of optimized mid-band 4G networks to 5G (both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA)), they exhibit comparable performance, and (ii) it is important to note that mmWave 5G has the capability to deliver multi-Gbps throughput, even in NSA mode. However, this high-speed performance is susceptible to limitations imposed by factors such as distance, body interference, obstructions (such as Low-e glass), and overheating, which can render its performance less reliable. Therefore, even though 5G exhibits considerable potential in its early stages, additional efforts are required to guarantee that the stated goals of 5G are met.

A study on the impact of mobility on caching in non-standalone 5G vehicular networks

Responding to numerous requests of mobile users and maintaining the quality of service is one of the important challenges in designing and implementing future vehicular networks. One of the solutions to reduce network traffic is caching on the radio access network and close to users. In this paper, we investigate the impact of the mobility of users on caching performance and propose novel mobility-aware schemes to turn the mobility challenge into an opportunity to reduce latency. We study vehicular networks with Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G deployment in which a mobile user (MU) can access the 5G Next Generation NodeB (gNB) stations with caching capability in addition to accessing the 4G Evolved NodeB (eNB) stations. We provide an analytical framework and present a closed-form expression of the average end-to-end data transfer time in cache-enabled vehicular networks with NSA 5G deployment, considering users' mobility and the stochastic arrival of user requests. We study various caching schemes and propose novel mobility-aware caching schemes. Using the map-based mobility patterns of various vehicles including cars and buses and also pedestrians, it is shown that the proposed mobility-aware schemes improve the performance of mobile networks in terms of latency.

Strategies For 5g Nr Networks Distribution In Rwanda

The fifth-generation mobile network has been developed and standardized with an intention of exploring the market beyond 2017. The question was to study the distribution strategies to fill out the needs of this strong network introduced for real-time feedback. Mobile operators proposed five alternative network architectures to 3GPP. The response to the question was to carry out the first distribution strategy which is Non-Standalone New Radio (NSA NR) in 2017 followed by a Standalone New Radio access network that was standardized in 2018. This study analyzes the distribution strategies of the 5G New Radio (NR) network, main technologies, benefits and drawbacks and compares NSA NR and SA NR distribution modes in terms of coverage, network capability, the inter-working which is between 4G and 5G, complexity and network distribution cost in Rwanda. This also highlights the potential challenges to implement 5G especially in Least Developed Countries. Micro Operators have been also used to accelerate the deployment for new entries and presented some challenges where the proposed solution for them has been the planification of a huge amount of economic resources as well as skilled manpower. The study concluded that the reliable and efficient distribution strategies of 5G NR Networks will be based on Non-Standalone (NSA), Standalone (SA) and the Micro Operators considerations to accelerate its distribution not only in global context but also in Rwanda

Challenges and Solutions for Service Continuity in Inter-PLMN Handover for Vehicular Applications

The reliability and availability of network connectivity, which significantly varies with mobility, is crucial in Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM). Handover and roaming are the most challenging situations in terms of connectivity of cellular networks, which require switching across cells of the same cellular network or between Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs). This paper proposes a set of solutions for vehicular applications to mitigate the impact of mobility in service continuity, including a dual modem solution that reduces the interruption time when switching PLMNs, an adaptive bitrate mechanism for media streaming that increases reliability, a WebRTC server acting as a gateway in media streaming sessions between vehicles, and a MEC discovery and handover method. The proposed solutions have been evaluated executing an Extended Sensors application in several commercial and experimental 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) and Stand Alone (SA) setups with different Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC), edge-cloud and cloud infrastructures to host services. It can be concluded from the results obtained that 5G networks have not yet achieved the required performance for CCAM, and that practitioners need to implement solutions and workarounds, such as the ones proposed in this work, to mitigate the issues. As lessons learnt from the deployment and experimentation, this paper also overviews a detailed set of problems and the proposed solutions that CCAM industry and cellular network stakeholders need to consider.

Estimation of 5G Core and RAN End-to-End Delay through Gaussian Mixture Models

Network analytics provide a comprehensive picture of the network’s Quality of Service (QoS), including the End-to-End (E2E) delay. In this paper, we characterize the Core and the Radio Access Network (RAN) E2E delay of 5G networks with the Standalone (SA) and Non-Standalone (NSA) topologies when a single known Probability Density Function (PDF) is not suitable to model its distribution. To this end, multiple PDFs, denominated as components, are combined in a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) to represent the distribution of the E2E delay. The accuracy and computation time of the GMM is evaluated for a different number of components and a number of samples. The results presented in the paper are based on a dataset of E2E delay values sampled from both SA and NSA 5G networks. Finally, we show that the GMM can be adopted to estimate a high diversity of E2E delay patterns found in 5G networks and its computation time can be adequate for a large range of applications.

Practical Performance Analyses of 5G Sharing Voice Solution

Sharing network infrastructure is carried out by a few network operators in the world and is regarded as an effective means to accelerate the commercial 5G with seamless coverage and user experience guarantees but significantly reduced investment. Voice via IMS has been defined as the voice-bearing solution from 3rd-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 5. Release 15 pointed out that 5G still adopts the IMS-based voice service architecture. In such a background, and in the process of global 5G network evolution from non-stand-alone (NSA) to stand-alone (SA), how to bear 5G voice services in the sharing network infrastructure has quite a few technical options. This paper investigates the 5G access network sharing technical solutions and presents the voice bearer technology under different new radio (NR) evolution stages. Analysis was performed for the different stages of voice handover. Performance results from field tests are provided to verify the feasibility of the solution, and performance analysis such as end-to-end call setup delay was also carried out. From the theoretical and practical analysis, the voice over long-term evolution (VoLTE) non-back-to-home solution has a relatively short access delay in the NSA sharing stage; EPS fallback based on either handover or redirection introduces a large time delay, so EPS fallback can only be used as a transition solution in the early stage of SA sharing deployment; voice over new radio (VoNR) has the lowest access time delay and the simplest implementation solution, so it is the final voice solution for 5G SA sharing network. The comparison of different voice-bearing solutions in different network development stages provides a reference for countries around the world.

Performance Analysis of Various 5G Mobile Architectures

The field of Telecommunication has progressed and emerged to be a successful field of technology. From communicating via pigeons and cannon balls to video conferencing for a meeting, the communication has improved surpassing every user’s expectation. With the introduction of wireless communication, the field of communication took a different turn. Just when we thought we reached the zenith of wireless communication, an esoteric concept of StandAlone (S.A.) and Non-StandAlone (N.S.A.) opened the gates to a more efficient communication, expanding the horizons of technology. The 5G network has started developing over some regions in the world but the real question remains; which is, whether an efficient communication is worth the economy spent on developing it or certain advantages of this networks should be given up to protect the country’s economy.The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) presents two essential architecture for 5G deployment from LTE: Non-Standalone (NSA) and Standalone (SA). NSA empowers quick 5G benefit arrangement with minimum investment by leveraging the existing LTE infrastructures. SA comprises of a single Radio Access Technology (RAT), meaning it is conceivable to supply full 5G upgrades designed to work only in the 5G New Radio (NR) This analytical paper elaborates the performance of these two architectures for the implementation of 5G cellular technology, where in the first one would be highly technology centric approach with less cost efficiency and the other one would be the economy savvy aspect with little bit negotiation with technology upgrades