Scrutinizing Real-life Configurations of Random Access Procedures in Cellular Networks

2026-04-10

AI Summary

This study addresses the mismatch between random access configuration and deployment scenarios in cellular networks, which frequently leads to access collisions and increased connection latency. Leveraging real-world broadcast channel measurements from multiple international mobile operators, this work systematically evaluates the appropriateness of current network parameter settings and validates, through NS-3 simulations, the effectiveness of region-specific differentiated configurations. The analysis reveals a widespread lack of scenario-awareness in existing configurations and proposes targeted optimization strategies. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach reduces access collisions by 43% on average (up to 61%) and decreases connection latency by 11% on average (up to 42%), thereby significantly enhancing random access performance.

Technology Category

• Search and Optimization: Algorithm Configuration
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web performance, measurement, and characterization
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Attacks and countermeasures in recommendation systems

Abstract

In cellular networks, base stations broadcast configurations that devices use for the random access procedure, which is a vital part of the connection setup. Ideally, the network should choose configurations based on the deployment scenario to optimize radio resource management. Doing so can, for example, decrease collisions of random access messages. We captured 112,806 data points of cellular broadcast information from nine network operators across three countries and analyzed how the operators configure the random access procedure. We found that configurations often do not fit the deployment scenario, and neighboring cells often use the same configuration, causing an unnecessarily high risk of collisions and, hence, delay in the connection setup. Furthermore, we simulated the random access procedure in NS-3 and found that by varying the configurations in a large area with many cells, the number of collisions can be reduced by 43% on average and up to 61%, and the connection delay can be lowered by 11% on average and up to 42%. Our findings indicate that simple adaptations in the random access configurations can greatly improve the performance of cellular networks.

Problem

• random access procedure
• cellular networks
• configuration mismatch
• collision
• connection delay

Innovation

• random access procedure
• cellular network configuration
• collision reduction
• NS-3 simulation
• radio resource management