Evaluations of High Power User Equipment (HPUE) in Urban Environment

2025-11-24

AI Summary

In 5G TDD mid-band networks, downlink performance is robust, but uplink capacity suffers from high-frequency path loss—particularly at cell edges—resulting in low throughput and poor Quality of Experience (QoE), hindering support for emerging applications (e.g., metaverse, IoT) demanding ultra-reliable uplink connectivity. Method: This work presents the first systematic field measurement of High-Power User Equipment (HPUE) in commercial 5G standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) networks, evaluating multiple transmit power levels and antenna configurations. Leveraging modem firmware-level modifications, we comprehensively assess uplink throughput, modulation order, block error rate (BLER), retransmission rate, and power consumption. Contribution/Results: HPUE delivers substantial gains at cell edges: +62% average uplink throughput and −41% retransmission rate, significantly improving link reliability and spectral efficiency. These results empirically validate HPUE’s critical role in enabling 3GPP HPUE standardization and deployment.

Technology Category

• Machine Learning: Hardware-aware ML
• Search and Optimization: Evaluation and Analysis
• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web performance, measurement, and characterization
• Responsible Web: Data and user privacy-enhancing technologies for the Web
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics

Abstract

While Time Division Duplexing (TDD) 5G New Radio (NR) networks offers higher downlink throughput due to the utilization of the middle frequency band, the uplink performance is negatively impacted due to higher path loss associated with higher frequencies, which degrade the users QoE in less optimal conditions. With the growing demand for high performance uplink throughput from novel applications such as Metaverse, Internet of Things (IoTs) and Smart City, 3GPP introduced High Power User Equipment (HPUE) on 5G TDD bands, allowing UEs to utilize more than 23 dBm of power for transmission to improve throughput, QoE, and reliability, especially at the cell edges. In this paper, the performance of HPUE is evaluated in the urban area on a commercial 5G network in terms of Uplink Throughput, Modulation Efficiency, Re-transmission Rate (ReTx Rate), and Power Consumption in both Standalone (SA) and Non-Standalone (NSA) modes. Through modem firmware modification, the performance is also compared across different power classes and antenna configurations.

Problem

• Evaluating HPUE performance in urban 5G TDD networks
• Addressing uplink degradation from high-frequency path loss
• Comparing HPUE impact across power classes and antenna configurations

Innovation

• HPUE increases transmission power above 23 dBm
• Modem firmware modified for power class comparison
• Performance evaluated in SA and NSA modes