A Study of 5G Network Performance: A Pilot Field Trial at the Main Skytrain Stations in Bangkok

Abstract

5G services were launched by mobile telecommunications operators in Thailand in Q1/2020. Although 15 months have passed since the launch, no official report about 5G performance is available, either provided by the regulator or an academic institute. Therefore, this pilot study aims to investigate the Quality of Service (QoS) parameters obtained from two major players in the Thai market and present 5G performance in the Bangkok area. The QoS data for the 5G networks provided by the two operators were gathered at the 11 busiest Skytrain stations in Bangkok. After the 5G data analysis, it has been found that the average download speed is about 299 Mbps and the average upload speed is approximately 64 Mbps. Also, it has been found that the average latency is about 13 ms, while the average packet loss is only 0.1 %. Thus, the QoS parameters of 5G in Bangkok from this study can be the baseline for the 5G networks that will be used widely in Thailand in the future. Moreover, for the average speed of 5G in Bangkok, it becomes one of the Top 5 cities in the world when compared to the recent global 5G report issued in April, 2021.