LTE performance "comparable to high-speed fixed line"

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 13 April 2011 09:52

Business IT - Technology

Internet performance measuring company, Epitiro, has completed what it claims to be the world's first independent speed, latency and voice quality-of-experience analysis on a commercially available LTE network, that of TeliaSonera in Finland, and has found LTE "directly comparable to high-speed fixed line services," and "capable of handling the most demanding of web-based applications including VoIP, video streaming and even HD IPTV."

Epitiro recorded a mean download speed of 36.1Mbps with a 48Mbps peak. Mean latency was 23ms. According to Epitiro, "LTE delivered mean download speeds nine times faster [than TeliaSonera's 3G network] (3G=4.1Mbps) and its latency was five times faster (3G=117ms)."

Epitiro also found that latency times for 3G were often erratic, showing extremes into the hundreds of milliseconds. It said that this would provide a poor experience for on-line gaming and VoIP telephony.

It added: "Analysis of IP calls to the UK, made using voice over LTE (VoLTE), found the quality to be 'excellent' on average; measured according to ITU-T PESQ MOS analysis algorithms, with only one call in 298 being of inferior quality."

Epitiro attempted to assess actual performance of the service as delivered to LTE subscribers. "Epitiro's 'consumer experience' test probes automatically connect to the Internet and mimic typical consumer behaviour, delivering around-the-clock testing of broadband performance and VoLTE call quality."

Epitiro CEO, Jon Curley, said: "Based on our observations, this LTE rollout is directly comparable to high-speed fixed line services. Further, the low latency times measured indicate the Finnish LTE service is capable of handling the most demanding of web-based applications including VoIP, video streaming and even HD IPTV.

"Beyond speed, the low latency and stability potential of LTE means mobile network operators can route voice calls over IP to give exceptional voice quality, rather than use the legacy circuit switched network."

However he cautioned: "The LTE subscriber base in Finland is limited, especially in comparison to subscribers on TeliaSonera's 3G network, meaning the 4G LTE service is not yet subject to contention from simultaneous peaks in demand, as the 3G network is. Furthermore, the network's relatively small coverage area has meant in-motion testing is not yet possible and performance on trains or in cars is not yet understood."

Epitiro says it conducted the research over five days in March 2011, collecting 20,000 LTE data points. Finnish mobile telecoms consultancy Genre Mobile Ltd assisted in the project with installation of measurement probes and in-country project management. The full report is available here. Epitiro says it will continue to test commercially available LTE networks throughout 2011.