Rakuten Mobile’s Open RAN 5G network leaves something to be desired in terms of both spectral efficiency and performance, according to new testing from Signals Research Group.
SRG conducted the tests over three days in late April, looking at both Rakuten’s 5G and LTE networks. The company’s 5G network is Open-RAN-based, while its LTE network “brings together multiple vendors without strictly adhering to Open RAN specifications,” SRG noted in a report preview. And while Open RAN was “inherently included” in the testing, the use of Open RAN still didn’t “define the results”, SRG explained.