Performance parameters consideration for Cellular System Upgrades in Developing Countries

Abstract

This paper focuses on the 5G backhaul network and the impacts of backhaul technologies on the Quality of Service (QoS) and user experiences, in particular, end to end delay (E2E) and capacity planning requirements. In particular, the aim is to facilitate the work of providers, developers, and investors when planning to introduce 5G technology to developing countries. This work looks into employing a simulation-based approach to consider bandwidth aspects when designing/ upgrading current/ future cellular systems in developing countries. It presents a scheme to maximize the use of bandwidth considering both capacity and delay aspects and helps to identify major parameters that influence system design for different 5G use cases and scenarios. Simulation proves that the method to determine the required link capacity is by observing the traffic delay and users access statistics as well as by increasing the capacity incrementally by changing the factor for each link in the network, until optimal capacity is achieved. The results indicate that within the "broadband in the crowd" scenario for 5G services and applications, the necessary bandwidth for last-mile network connections can vary depending on the service type. Specifically, bandwidth requirements can be lessened for ultra-low latency services and applications, with even greater reductions possible for those that do not require such low latency. These adjustments are observed when the backbone link is operating at its full capacity. For developing countries, a hybrid topology based on the existing networks is utilized, where financial considerations will play an important role in determining the backhaul network topology with optimization for the specific requirements.