Mobile Network Operators’ Assessment Based on Drive-Test Campaign in Urban Area for iPerf Scenario

Abstract

The development of new telecommunication services requires the implementation of advanced technologies and the next generations of networks. Currently, the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is a widely used standard. On the other hand, more and more mobile network operators (MNOs) are implementing the fifth-generation (5G) New Radio standard in their networks. It allows for increasing throughput, spectral, and energy efficiency and maximizing coverage, while reducing latency. The effectiveness of the introduced changes is measured by assessing the quality of service (QoS) in mobile networks. The paper presents the result evaluation of the QoS measurement campaign carried out using the drive test method in an urban area for four MNOs. We analyze the data transmission scenario, which is the basis of most modern telecommunications services. The result comparison provides an assessment of the 5G service implementation advancement by MNOs. In this analysis, we consider many QoS metrics (e.g., session time, throughput, and round-trip time) and parameters defining the radio signal quality (i.e., reference signal received power, signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio). Our work also included searching for relationships between these parameters, using a correlation analysis. It allows for the selection of uncorrelated parameters to assess the quality of network, i.e., MNO evaluation, in terms of the provided QoS.