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Spectrum & RAN Sharing: A Measurement-based Case Study of Commercial 5G Networks in Spain

Rostand A. K. Fezeu, Lilian C. Freitas, Eman Ramadan, Jason Carpenter, Claudio Fiandrino, Joerg Widmer, Zhi-Li Zhang

TL;DR

This work tackles the real-world impact of spectrum and RAN sharing in commercial 5G deployments. Using a measurement campaign in Spain, it compares Orange and Vodafone under shared and non-shared conditions to quantify control-plane latency, data-plane throughput, and user QoE. The results show notable reductions in control-plane delays and substantial throughput gains from resource pooling, with QoE improvements being modest and heterogeneous across operators. The study provides empirical evidence of how sharing shapes deployment strategies and resource management, offering insights applicable to future 6G network evolution.

Abstract

Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing, which often also includes spectrum sharing, is a strategic cooperative agreement among two or more mobile operators, where one operator may use another's RAN infrastructure to provide mobile services to its users. By mutually sharing physical sites, radio elements, licensed spectrum and other parts of the RAN infrastructure, participating operators can significantly reduce the capital (and operational) expenditure in deploying and operating cellular networks, while accelerating coverage expansion -- thereby addressing the spectrum scarcity and infrastructure cost challenges in the 5G era and beyond. While the economic benefits of RAN sharing are well understood, the impact of such resource pooling on user-perceived performance remains underexplored, especially in real-world commercial deployments. We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first empirical measurement study of commercial 5G spectrum and RAN sharing. Our measurement study is unique in that, beyond identifying real-world instances of shared 5G spectrum and RAN deployment "in the wild", we also analyze users' perceived performance and its implication on Quality of Experience (QoE). Our study provides critical insights into resource management (i.e., pooling) and spectrum efficiency, offering a blueprint (and implications) for network evolution in 5G, 6G and beyond.

Spectrum & RAN Sharing: A Measurement-based Case Study of Commercial 5G Networks in Spain

TL;DR

This work tackles the real-world impact of spectrum and RAN sharing in commercial 5G deployments. Using a measurement campaign in Spain, it compares Orange and Vodafone under shared and non-shared conditions to quantify control-plane latency, data-plane throughput, and user QoE. The results show notable reductions in control-plane delays and substantial throughput gains from resource pooling, with QoE improvements being modest and heterogeneous across operators. The study provides empirical evidence of how sharing shapes deployment strategies and resource management, offering insights applicable to future 6G network evolution.

Abstract

Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing, which often also includes spectrum sharing, is a strategic cooperative agreement among two or more mobile operators, where one operator may use another's RAN infrastructure to provide mobile services to its users. By mutually sharing physical sites, radio elements, licensed spectrum and other parts of the RAN infrastructure, participating operators can significantly reduce the capital (and operational) expenditure in deploying and operating cellular networks, while accelerating coverage expansion -- thereby addressing the spectrum scarcity and infrastructure cost challenges in the 5G era and beyond. While the economic benefits of RAN sharing are well understood, the impact of such resource pooling on user-perceived performance remains underexplored, especially in real-world commercial deployments. We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first empirical measurement study of commercial 5G spectrum and RAN sharing. Our measurement study is unique in that, beyond identifying real-world instances of shared 5G spectrum and RAN deployment "in the wild", we also analyze users' perceived performance and its implication on Quality of Experience (QoE). Our study provides critical insights into resource management (i.e., pooling) and spectrum efficiency, offering a blueprint (and implications) for network evolution in 5G, 6G and beyond.
Paper Structure (16 sections, 8 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 16 sections, 8 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background & Motivation
  3. Spectrum and RAN Sharing Background
  4. 5G Background and Motivation
  5. Spectrum Acquisition in Spain and Measurement Methodology
  6. Spectrum Acquisition in Spain
  7. Measurement Methodology & Data Collection
  8. Performance Analysis of RAN Sharing
  9. RAN Sharing Impact on Control Plane Latency
  10. RAN Sharing Impact on Throughput
  11. RAN Sharing Impact on Application QoE
  12. Related Work
  13. Economic and Technical Potential of RAN Sharing
  14. Mobile Virtual Network Operators & Roaming
  15. Academic RAN Sharing Studies
  16. ...and 1 more sections

Figures (8)

  • Figure 1: Shared and non-shared network elements in RAN Sharing.
  • Figure 2: RRC connection time with and without RAN Sharing.
  • Figure 3: SGC Modification latency with and without RAN Sharing.
  • Figure 4: NR-NR HO Latency with and without RAN Sharing.
  • Figure 5: Comparison of Orange Subscriber UE throughput under non–RAN sharing and RAN sharing scenarios.
  • ...and 3 more figures