Publikation
Industrial Open RAN Deployment: A Comparative Performance Evaluation of Open and Commercial gNBs
Hubert Djuitcheu; Khurshid Alam; Andrew Sergeev; Florian Spinty; Achim Autenrieth; Jörg-Peter Elbers; Jochen Seitz
In: Proceedings of the 2025 IEEE Future Networks World Forum. IEEE Future Networks World Forum (FNWF-2025), November 10-12, Bengaluru, India, IEEE, 2025.
Zusammenfassung
In this work, we present a field evaluation of two Open Radio Access Network (RAN) next-generation NodeB (gNB) implementations—one open-source, based on OpenAirInterface (OAI), and one commercial—deployed in a real industrial factory hall. The testbed features disaggregated gNBs with a central unit (CU) and distributed unit (DU) split, distinct radio units (RUs), and an OAI 5G core, covering an area of 39m × 20m. We measured key performance indicators (KPIs) such as latency, jitter, throughput, reference signal received power (RSRP), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), and energy consumption using a robot-mounted user equipment (UE) at 31 locations. The results reveal significant differences in KPIs between the two systems, despite nearly identical measurement conditions, which raises important questions about their suitability for industrial environments. By providing the comparative analysis of open-source and commercial gNB implementations in a real-world deployment, this paper offers valuable insights to guide the selection of reliable solutions for critical industry applications.