A recent benchmark study conducted by Signals Research Group (SRG) on behalf of Samsung Networks uncovered substantial capacity gains for 5G networks achieved with multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) radio technology. Using Samsung’s market-leading 64T64R C-band Massive MIMO radios and virtualized radio access network (vRAN) solution deployed in a commercial 5G network in suburban Dallas, the extensive tests provided compelling evidence of significant performance improvements through MU-MIMO capabilities compared to single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO).
SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO are similar in leveraging favorable radio conditions to reuse the same time and frequency resources, delivering higher data speeds and overall sector throughput. That said, MU-MIMO builds on SU-MIMO capabilities by allowing even greater reuse of resources between multiple devices simultaneously. MU-MIMO offers significantly more layers for data transmission compared to SU-MIMO: 16 downlink and 8 uplink, compared to 4/1 (downlink/uplink) for 5G NSA and 4/2 for 5G SA.
“This testing spotlights the capabilities of MU-MIMO and how the technology can play a key role in an operator’s overall capacity strategy, achieving triple-digit capacity gains for both downlink and uplink,” said Michael Thelander, President at Signals Research Group. “MU-MIMO also has great potential for fixed wireless access initiatives. The location where we tested serves a fixed wireless deployment on the cell to the north, and to the south, where there’s a high density of users during tennis and baseball games and MU-MIMO is serving all of them.”
Key findings from the study include:
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- Downlink MU-MIMO cell sector capacity increased by up to 3.2x for sustained periods compared to SU-MIMO. Average cell sector throughput reached nearly 3 Gbps on a single 100 MHz n77 channel, equating to an impressive spectral efficiency of 36.4 bps/Hz – all on a live commercial network.
- The downlink MU-MIMO capacity gains stemmed from high reuse of network resources and MIMO layers. These gains involved a near-perfect reuse of all available RBs by the eight smartphones used in the test, a 7.7x increase compared to SU-MIMO. SRG also observed an average of 13 MIMO layers, with another test scenario showing the potential for up to 16 MIMO layers.
- Uplink MU-MIMO capacity increased by 3.3x, with four phones transmitting data concurrently. Total uplink throughput topped 300 Mbps with a spectral efficiency of 14.4 bps/Hz, compared to just 4.3 bps/Hz with SU-MIMO. Since MU-MIMO supports up to eight layers, there is potential for even higher gains at sites supporting more than four uplink layers.
- Complex scenarios with a mixture of uplink and downlink traffic delivered high capacity gains up to the triple digits, regardless of whether the devices were positioned near the cell site or hundreds of meters away. If one phone’s location prevented pairing, the remaining phones could still pair with each other and deliver much higher throughput than possible with SU-MIMO.
- More MIMO layers directly translate to superior performance. Networks supporting 16 downlink layers and eight uplink layers have a substantive advantage over those with fewer MIMO layers. In comparative tests with four and eight phones, the results with eight phones were always higher than the tests with four phones. In all of SRG’s MU-MIMO tests, the average MIMO layer count consistently exceeded eight layers.
- MU-MIMO offers benefits to fixed wireless access (FWA) use cases due to stationary end-user devices and high data consumption.
The comprehensive test results clearly demonstrate the immense power of MU-MIMO to substantially boost network capacity through highly efficient use of available spectrum. As mobile data demands continue to grow, MU-MIMO will be critical for improving speed and quality of experience, especially for data-intensive applications like video streaming and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). Operators with extensive MU-MIMO capabilities will have a significant leg up on delivering next-generation 5G performance to consumers.
Access the full report here for the detailed results and insights.
Conclusion
This extensive real-world benchmark analysis by SRG underscores Samsung’s leadership in developing innovative 5G solutions and technologies that allow carriers to enhance network efficiency dramatically. As the research demonstrates, Samsung has proven expertise which is instrumental in unlocking the full potential of emerging technologies like MU-MIMO, empowering operators to meet expanding customer needs both now and into the future.