Da e o publica ion xxxx 00, 0000, da e o cu en e sion xxxx 00, 0000.
Digi al Objec Iden i ie 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.0429000
Deploymen and Pe o mance E alua ion o 5G
P i a e Ne wo ks, Enabling Use Cases in Ru al
Remo e A eas
MARIA RAFTOPOULOU1, MUHAMMAD FAHEEM AWAN2, ALEJANDRO RAMÍREZ-ARROYO3,
MEHMET IZZET SAGLAM4, LJUPCO JORGUSESKI1, FLORIS DRIJVER1, PAWEŁ MAĆKOWIAK1,
and MARIA RITA PALATTELLA5
1Depa men o Ne wo ks, Ne he lands O ganisa ion o Applied Scien i ic Resea ch (TNO), 2595 DA The Hague, The Ne he lands
2Teleno Resea ch and Inno a ion, 1360, Fo nebu, No way
3Depa men o Elec onic Sys ems, Aalbo g Uni e si y (AAU), 9220 Aalbo g Øs , Denma k
4Depa men o R&D, Tu kcell Resea ch and De elopmen , 34854 İs anbul, Tü kiye
5Luxembou g Ins i u e o Science and Technology, L-4422 Bel aux, Luxembou g
Co esponding au ho : Ma ia Ra opoulou (e-mail: [email p o ec ed]).
This pape p esen s ongoing wo k ca ied ou wi hin he COMMECT p ojec , which ecei ed unding om he Eu opean Union’s Ho izon
Eu ope Resea ch and Inno a ion P og amme unde G an Ag eemen No 101060881.
ABSTRACT Ru al emo e a eas ha e unique challenges o p o iding eliable and high-speed cellula
connec i i y, which makes hem una ac i e o mobile ne wo k ope a o s. The Ho izon Eu ope COMMECT
p ojec has add essed connec i i y in u al emo e a eas by 5G p i a e ne wo k deploymen s, which so a
ha e mainly been s udied and deployed in indus ial en i onmen . The e alua ion o he 5G p i a e ne wo k
deploymen s is conduc ed h ough ield ials in ou di e en en i onmen , each o hem cha ac e ized by
di e en challenges and aiming o suppo di e en ag o- o es y use cases. In pa icula , he e alua ions
ela e o (i) indoo en i onmen s (e.g. hospi als and educa ional cen e s), (ii) o es y, (iii) li es ock ans-
po a ion, and (i ) mines. The ob ained esul s showcase ha 5G p i a e ne wo ks can suppo he p oposed
use cases. Fo example, in indoo en i onmen s, a downlink and uplink h oughpu o 700 Mbps and 50
Mbps, espec i ely, we e measu ed, which a e su icien o enable e.g. emo e moni o ing o hospi al pa ien s.
Mo eo e , i was measu ed ha a leas 10 Mbps in he uplink can be achie ed o up o 300 m deep in he
o es . The 10 Mbps a ge is also me in he a m loca ion, including a sa elli e backhaul, which can enable
e.g. he use case o (un)loading li es ock om/ o he uck. Addi ionally, h oughpu o mo e han 100 Mbps
was measu ed a he mine loca ion, which is su icien o enhance sa e y by e.g. ope a ing unmanned ehicles.
INDEX TERMS 5G p i a e ne wo ks, ield ials, o es y, indoo en i onmen s, li es ock anspo a ion,
mines, ne wo k deploymen , emo e a eas.
I. INTRODUCTION
IN ecen yea s, he i h gene a ion o mobile ne wo ks
(5G) has seen wide deploymen a ound he globe. Con-
ne wo k deploymen s a e mos ly ocused on u ban a eas.
P o iding connec i i y in u al a eas is una ac i e and chal-
lenging o MNOs due o he high in es men needed o
he in as uc u e deploymen and he low popula ion densi y
in hose a eas [2]. Thus, u al a eas o en ace limi ed o
poo connec i i y, which in e u n impac s he esiden s and
businesses, hampe ing economic de elopmen .
To allow mo e lexibili y on he ne wo k deploymen and
he suppo ed se ices o he 5G ne wo k, he concep o
5G p i a e ne wo ks o 5G non-public ne wo ks (NPNs) has
been in oduced and s anda dized wi hin he hi d gene a ion
inuing he end o he p e ious gene a ions o cellula ne -
wo ks, 5G u he imp o es b oadband se ices as well as
enabling a ange o new se ices by also o e ing ul a-low
la ency and massi e connec i i y [1]. Typically, hese so-
called public 5G ne wo ks a e deployed and managed by
mobile ne wo k ope a o s (MNOs), which hen o e hei
suppo ed se ices o indi iduals o businesses.
While MNOs p o ide a ange o se ices, e.g. In e ne
access, and ideo s eaming, h ough hei 5G ne wo ks, hei
1
This a icle has been accep ed o publica ion in IEEE Access. This is he au ho 's e sion which has no been ully edi ed and
con en may change p io o inal publica ion. Ci a ion in o ma ion: DOI 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3603591
This wo k is he p ep in e sion o he pape published in IEEE ACCESS (Ea ly Access), DOI:
10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3603591
Ra opoulou e al.: E alua ion o 5G P i a e Ne wo ks o Enabling Use Cases in Remo e A eas
pa ne ship p ojec (3GPP) [3], [4]. 5G p i a e ne wo ks a e
localized ne wo ks, which a e deployed wi hin he p emises
o he p i a e en i y e.g. an o ganiza ion o an en e p ise,
and hey a e cus omized o he needs o he p i a e en i y.
Mo eo e , 5G p i a e ne wo ks a e managed by he p i a e
en i y o a hi d-pa y p o ide , e.g. an MNO, on hei behal .
Due o he lexibili y o e ed by 5G p i a e ne wo ks,
hey ha e gained a lo o a en ion o deploymen in in-
dus ial en i onmen s, which equi e enhanced secu i y, and
high communica ion a ailabili y [5], [6]. To ha end, he
5G alliance o connec ed indus ies and au oma ion (5G-
ACIA) has iden i ied di e en ypes o 5G p i a e ne wo k
deploymen s [7], and mul iple deploymen e alua ions a e
pe o med e.g. in [8], [9]. E en hough he e is high in e es
on 5G p i a e ne wo ks o indus ial en i onmen s, hese
ne wo ks a e also a ac i e o p o ide connec i i y and new
se ices in u al a eas o suppo communi y de elopmen .
Fo example, di e en use cases can be enabled such as sma
ag icul u e, u al emo e heal hca e, sma ene gy, en i on-
men moni o ing, among many o he s [2].
A. RELATED WORK
Due o he ecen concep ion and concep ualiza ion o 5G
p i a e ne wo ks, se e al s a e-o - he-a wo ks ocus on sim-
ula ions and heo e ical models. Fo ins ance, Lim e al. [10]
p opose a deep ein o cemen lea ning app oach o op imize
con en alloca ion s a egy and cache eplacemen policies
in 5G p i a e ne wo ks. Chang e al. [11] p esen an op-
imiza ion algo i hm o enhance he dis ibu ion and signal
co e age o 5G base s a ions in mine deploymen s. Luo e
al. [12] analyze he challenges associa ed wi h 5G p i a e
ne wo k design in he equency ange 2 band based on a game
heo e ic use alloca ion algo i hm o minimize co-channel
in e e ence.
In pa allel, p ac ical wo k ela ed o di e en ields such as
d one scena ios and cybe secu i y is eme ging. Fo ins ance,
U ama e al. [13] p esen he deploymen o 5G p i a e ne -
wo ks based on d one scena ios. Neina aie e al. [14] exploi
e e ence signals in p i a e ne wo ks o cogni i e na iga ion
on g ound and ae ial pla o ms. Skokowski e al. [15] employ
a 5G p i a e ne wo k o es he obus ness o he echnology
agains low-ene gy and sma jamming a acks. Akgun e
al. [16] s udy a machine lea ning algo i hm o p edic ing
cell in e e ence by exploi ing he channel s a e in o ma-
ion epo ed by a 5G p i a e ne wo k. Ui o and Heikkinen
[17] e alua e ideo s eaming in s andalone 5G ne wo ks by
measu ing he la ency and ji e unde di e en ideo and
ne wo k con igu a ions. Howe e hei e alua ion scena io
is pe o med indoo s and wi h a sho dis ance be ween he
ideo equipmen and he 5G modem, a he han in u al
a eas.
Despi e p e ious wo k, e y limi ed wo ks a e a ailable on
p ac ical deploymen o 5G p i a e ne wo ks in u al a eas.
Among hem, Schellenbe ge e al. [18] ocus on an ag i-
cul u al use case, whe e a d one and a obo a e connec ed
h ough a 5G nomadic ne wo k o a emo e se e . E en
hough he sys em a chi ec u e is alida ed as easible, no
de ailed esul s on h oughpu and la ency ha e been epo ed.
To add ess he challenges and enable new applica ions in u al
a eas, Mendes e al. [2] p opose he 5G-RANGE ne wo k,
which is e alua ed wi h ield demons a ion. The designed
5G-RANGE ne wo k p oposes new physical, medium access
con ol and ne wo k laye s ha a e speci ically designed o
u al a eas. Thus, 5G-RANGE can be used as a di e en
ope a ion mode o beyond 5G s anda ds.
Di e en ly, in ou wo k we showcase how 5G p i a e
ne wo ks can be used o enable new applica ions in emo e
a eas. In addi ion, se e al deploymen s a e conside ed o
p o ide an o e iew o he pe o mance o hese ypes o
ne wo ks in u al a eas. Sec ion I.B desc ibes in de ail he
main con ibu ions and no el y o his s udy.
B. CONTRIBUTIONS AND PAPER ORGANIZATION
Wi hin he COMMECT p ojec he in es iga ions ha e been
ocused on e alua ing he possible connec i i y solu ions,
in his case 5G p i a e ne wo ks, o di e en use cases in
emo e a eas [19]. The app oach aken was ia ield ials
ha could e lec , o he ex end possible, he ac ual condi ions
in hese emo e a eas. P e iously, in [20], wo use cases in
emo e a eas, namely o es y and li es ock anspo a ion,
ha e been desc ibed. Fo each o he wo use cases, a ne wo k
deploymen has been p oposed and e alua ed wi h ield ials.
Howe e , he e alua ion was limi ed o he expe ienced uplink
h oughpu . This pape is an ex ension o ou p e iously
published wo k [20] and he main con ibu ions can be sum-
ma ized as ollows:
1) Desc ip ion o ou use cases in emo e a eas ha can be
enabled by he deploymen o 5G p i a e ne wo ks, and
hei associa ed ne wo k deploymen . In addi ion o he
wo p e iously s udied use cases, he deploymen o 5G
p i a e ne wo ks in indoo en i onmen s, o e.g. u al
educa ional pu poses, and in mines is also s udied in
his pape .
2) Illus a ion o he pe o mance and limi a ions o 5G
p i a e ne wo k deploymen s h ough ield ials. The
ex ended ield es e alua ion esul s include co e age
analysis, uplink and downlink h oughpu , la ency, and
uplink h oughpu pe o mance o he case o sa elli e
backhauling link.
3) A cos bene i analysis o he deploymen o 5G p i a e
ne wo ks.
In summa y, his wo k is one o he i s o epo ield
ial-based e alua ions ac oss ou di e en scena ios o u al
use case applica ions, o e ing aluable insigh s o bo h he
academic esea ch communi y and enginee s a comme cial
ope a o s. The key pe o mance indica o s (KPIs) and me ics
measu ed o e aluable eal-wo ld da a o model alida ion
in simula ion, c oss-compa ison in eal en i onmen s, and
insigh s in o he deploymen o p i a e 5G ne wo ks in u al
en i onmen s.
The emainde o his pape is o ganized as ollows. In
Sec ion II he backg ound o 5G p i a e ne wo ks is p esen ed
2
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Ra opoulou e al.: E alua ion o 5G P i a e Ne wo ks o Enabling Use Cases in Remo e A eas
TABLE 1. Lis o abb e ia ions.
Abb e ia ion Explana ion
3GPP 3 d Gene a ion Pa ne ship P ojec
5G-ACIA 5G Alliance o Connec ed Indus ies and Au oma ion
AI A i icial In elligence
AMR Au onomous Mobile Robo
GPS Global Posi ioning Sys em
(I)IoT (Indus ial) In e ne o Things
KPI Key Pe o mance Indica o
MIMO Mul iple-Inpu Mul iple-Ou pu
MNO Mobile Ne wo k Ope a o
(N)LoS (Non-)Line o Sigh
NoW Ne wo k on Wheels
NPN Non-Public Ne wo k
PNI-NPN Public Ne wo k In eg a ed Non-Public Ne wo k
RAN Radio Access Ne wo k
RSRP Re e ence Signal Recei ed Powe
SINR Signal o In e e ence and Noise Ra io
SNPN S andalone Non-Public Ne wo k
TCP T ansmission Con ol P o ocol
TDD Time Di ision Duplex
UDP Use Da ag am P o ocol
UE Use Equipmen
including he majo challenges om hei deploymen in
emo e a eas. Sec ion III p esen s he ou use cases in emo e
a eas ha a e unde in es iga ion and he associa ed ne wo k
deploymen . The pe o mance e alua ion o he p oposed
ne wo k deploymen s is p esen ed in Sec ion IV, whe eas
he ele an cos bene i analysis is p esen ed in Sec ion V.
Finally, Sec ion VI concludes he pape . Fo ease o eading,
all abb e ia ions used ac oss he sec ions a e summa ized in
Table 1.
II. 5G PRIVATE NETWORKS IN REMOTE AREAS
This sec ion p o ides backg ound in o ma ion on 5G p i a e
ne wo ks, i s ypes o deploymen , ad an ages, and challenges
o deploymen in u al emo e a eas.
A. BACKGROUND
heal h se ices, and emo e moni o ing, ensu ing seamless
communica ion and apid esponse imes. Finally, he la ge
local capaci y would be e y help ul as i could accommoda e
a as numbe o connec ed de ices simul aneously, anging
om sma phones and able s o IoT senso s and au onomous
equipmen , mee ing he di e se connec i i y needs o he
emo e a ea communi ies.
Ano he ad an age is he high communica ion cus omiza-
ion. 5G p i a e ne wo ks a e cus omized such ha p io i y o
high-quali y is gi en o he limi ed se o se ices ha a e o
c ucial impo ance o he business o he en e p ise. Ano he
example is localiza ion ea u es (o in u u e sensing) ha
can po en ially e olu ionize p ecision a ming, o es y, o
emo e indoo /mines p ac ices. This ea u e combined wi h
high- esolu ion ideo connec i i y could also enable emo e
moni o ing and elewo king. Fu he mo e, he 5G p i a e ne -
wo k can be cus omized o seamlessly in eg a e IoT de ices
such as a ious senso s and ac ua o s o sa is y he needs o
he local a ea se ices and subsc ibe s.
B. TYPES OF DEPLOYMENT
5G p i a e ne wo ks (o NPNs) can be deployed in di e en
ways, depending on which pa (s) o he ne wo k a e sha ed
(o no ) wi h a public land mobile ne wo k [7], [21]. We
iden i y he ollowing wo ca ego ies o p i a e ne wo k (o
NPN) deploymen s:
S andalone non-public ne wo ks (SNPN): These p i a e
ne wo k deploymen s do no sha e any o hei unc ions
wi h he public ne wo k, which allows ull con ol o he p i-
a e ne wo k. SNPN deploymen s do no necessa ily dic a e
ha all ne wo k componen s a e deployed a he en e p ise
p emises. Di e en deploymen la ou s exis ha can hos
some o he ne wo k unc ions ou side he p emises.
Public ne wo k in eg a ed non-public ne wo k (PNI-NPN):
These p i a e ne wo k deploymen s sha e some o hei unc-
ions wi h one o mo e public ne wo ks. Di e en la ou s
o PNI-NPN deploymen s exis , depending on which unc-
ions a e sha ed wi h o hos ed by he public ne wo k(s) and
whe e hese ne wo k unc ions a e hos ed. Fo example, in
[7], he ‘‘sha ed adio access ne wo k (RAN)’’ deploymen is
p esen ed, whe e he p i a e ne wo k sha es i s RAN wi h he
public ne wo k. Mo eo e , a special case o PNI-NPNs a e
he public-ne wo k-hos ed 5G p i a e ne wo ks, also known
as “ i ual 5G p i a e ne wo ks”, whe e all ne wo k unc ions
a e embedded in he public ne wo k.
The wo ca ego ies o 5G p i a e ne wo k deploymen s a e
designed o accommoda e di e en o al cos o owne ship
and scaling/cus omiza ion dependency on he MNO ope a ing
he public ne wo k. Consequen ly, some deploymen s ha e a
low scaling/cus omiza ion dependency on he public ne wo k,
bu a high o al cos o owne ship, wi h he ex eme case o
SNPNs ha ing no dependency on he public ne wo k. On
he o he hand, he deploymen s ha sha e many unc ions
wi h he public ne wo k, ha e a low o al cos o owne ship
bu a high scaling/cus omiza ion dependency on he public
5G p i a e ne wo ks a e in ended o non-public use, meaning
ha hei u iliza ion is no mally a ge ing speci ic se ices o
use cases. Typically, 5G p i a e ne wo ks allow access only
o a limi ed se o de ices (e.g. de ices om employees and
In e ne o Things (IoT) de ices o an en e p ise) in a limi ed
a ea (o numbe o a eas). Addi ionally, due o da a sensi i i y
and secu i y easons, a p i a e 5G ne wo k can be o ganized
such ha bo h he communica ion da a and/o ope a ions and
managemen da a a e kep wi hin he en e p ise p emises.
One o he main ad an ages o deploying 5G p i a e ne -
wo ks in emo e a eas is ha i allows o high pe o -
mance connec i i y. Reliable and high-speed connec i i y
is challenging in emo e a eas. In oducing 5G p i a e ne -
wo ks could be a game-change wi h se e al no able bene i s.
Fi s ly, esiden s and businesses could enjoy as e down-
load and upload speeds, acili a ing mo e e icien access o
online se ices, ideo s eaming, and la ge ile downloads.
Secondly, la ency pe o mance can be imp o ed ha is c u-
cial o eal- ime applica ions like ideo con e encing, ele-
3
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con en may change p io o inal publica ion. Ci a ion in o ma ion: DOI 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3603591
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Ra opoulou e al.: E alua ion o 5G P i a e Ne wo ks o Enabling Use Cases in Remo e A eas
ne wo k. Fo example, he ex eme case o i ual 5G p i a e
ne wo ks a e ully dependen on he public ne wo k.
C. CHALLENGES
Fo he deploymen o 5G p i a e ne wo ks in emo e a eas,
di e en challenges need o be add essed, o example, ac-
quisi ion o spec um licenses o SNPNs, co e age o PNI-
NPN wi h sha ed RAN, bandwid h size selec ion, and back-
hauling o SNPN. Some o hese challenges a e add essed in
his pape h ough he pe o mance e alua ion o di e en 5G
p i a e ne wo k deploymen s o suppo use cases in emo e
a eas.
One o he challenges o 5G p i a e ne wo ks is o iden i y
he mos app op ia e deploymen , i.e. SNPN o PNI-NPN,
based on he equi emen s o he use case as well as he
o al cos o owne ship, which includes bo h capi al and op-
e a ional expendi u e. Typically, he e is a ade-o be ween
ne wo k pe o mance and o al cos o owne ship. The e o e,
a clea unde s anding o his ade-o is equi ed pe use
case, as well as he de ini ion o business models. This pape
add esses his challenge by p o ing a cos bene i analysis in
Sec ion V.
Mo eo e , he pe o mance o he deployed 5G p i a e
ne wo k, depends on a numbe o pa ame e s. Fo example,
he ne wo k co e age should be la ge enough such ha all
de ices in he in ended a ea can communica e wi h he ne -
wo k. Typically a loca ion is conside ed as ‘‘co e ed’’ by
he ne wo k i he e e ence signal ecei ed powe (RSRP)
a ha loca ion exceeds a h eshold. The e o e, o gua an ee
su icien co e age and capaci y, he loca ion o he base s a-
ions, and he co e age op imiza ion o he sec o ed an ennas
pe alloca ed ca ie equency a e essen ial. Howe e , o
PNI-NPN deploymen s, whe e he RAN (and hus, he base
s a ions) o he public ne wo k is sha ed wi h he p i a e
ne wo k, su icien co e age and capaci y ailo ed o he lo-
calized ‘‘p i a e’’ a ea o he pa icula en e p ise could be
challenging. This is due o he dependency on he public
ne wo k’s RAN in as uc u e ha is po en ially op imized
o se ing o he ‘‘public’’ use s ou side he ‘‘p i a e’’ a ea.
On he con a y, wi h SNPNs, he e is ull con ol wi hin
he 5G p i a e ne wo k in e ms o base s a ion loca ion
and an enna di ec ion o achie e he equi ed co e age and
capaci y. Fo ins ance, in dense en i onmen s wi h s ong
mul ipa h componen s, such as indoo en i onmen s, signal
blocking o non-line-o -sigh (NLoS) can s ongly a ec he
dynamic ange and RSRP, leading o poo co e age [22].
In his pape , co e age esul s a e p esen ed o each o he
deployed ne wo ks, co e ing bo h SNPNs and PNI-NPNs.
Apa om co e age, he ne wo k pe o mance also de-
pends om he RAN con igu a ion. In pa icula , in his
pape , we add ess he challenges o iden i ying he mos
app op ia e bandwid h size and ime di ision duplex (TDD)
ame con igu a ion, which a e di ec ly ela ed o he use
case equi emen s. Bo h he bandwid h size and TDD ame
con igu a ion ha e a di ec e ec on he achie able uplink
and downlink h oughpu , wi h he TDD ame con igu a ion
de ining how many ime slo s a e alloca ed o he uplink
and downlink channels wi hin a gi en ime pe iod. When
deploying SNPNs, he e a e s ic egula ions in e ms o
5G equency license, which only allow o bandwid h sizes
in a mul iple o 10 MHz [23] and/o ha ing a maximum
allowed bandwid h size. Mo eo e , he license condi ions
include equi emen s in e ms o TDD con igu a ion, due o
synch oniza ion es ic ions wi h o he ne wo k ope a ing in
close p oximi y [24]. This could also es ic he pe o mance
o 5G p i a e ne wo ks, especially o use cases whe e he e is
mos ly uplink-o ien ed a ic. Bo h o his aspec s a e s udied
in his pape .
Las bu no leas , he a ailabili y o backhaul links is also
c i ical, as hey a e equi ed o he connec ion o he 5G
p i a e ne wo k o he In e ne . This can be especially di icul
in emo e a eas, whe e he e es ial in as uc u e is limi ed
o non-exis en . A po en ial solu ion o backhauling is he
use o sa elli e communica ions. Howe e , he pe o mance
o sa elli e communica ions may s ill be limi ed, ega dless
o he many ecen echnological ad ancemen s. Conside ing
ha he backhaul could be he limi ing ac o in he pe o -
mance o 5G p i a e ne wo ks, i has been chosen o s udy
in his pape .
III. 5G PRIVATE NETWORK ENABLED USE CASES
This sec ion desc ibes he use cases, he challenges o each
use case, and hei associa ed 5G p i a e ne wo k deploy-
men s. The me hodology and se ups p esen ed allow o he
ep oducibili y o compa ison o deploymen s unde simila
condi ions, enabling u u e e alua ions in simila con ex s.
A. INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS
1) USE CASES
The concep o wi eless ac o ies has sp ead signi ican ly
in he las decade. Due o ad ances in cellula connec i i y,
highly eliable au oma ed p oduc ion lines can now be im-
plemen ed acco ding o he concep s in oduced by Indus y
4.0 and he indus ial In e ne o hings (IIoT) [25]. Among
he connec i i y solu ions p oposed o p o ide high eliabili y
in wi eless en i onmen s a e 5G p i a e ne wo ks due o
dedica ed spec um and in as uc u e [26].
Among he use cases, we highligh he massi e connec ion
o senso s wi h IoT de ices o eal- ime moni o ing, allow-
ing main enance wo k and e icien esou ce managemen .
Addi ionally, his connec i i y can be ex ended o he con ol
o au onomous mobile obo s (AMRs) in cha ge o logis ics
in ac o ies [27]. Finally, his highly eliable connec i i y
could enable augmen ed eali y and digi al wins o emo e
assis ance and con ol in he p oduc ion chain.
This i s use case, ocused on indoo en i onmen s, is
p esen ed as a baseline o he pe o mance o a p i a e 5G
ne wo k compa ed o ou doo en i onmen s (see ollowing
use cases). Es ablishing his indoo baseline is essen ial o
subsequen compa isons wi h deploymen s in mo e challeng-
ing u al o emo e en i onmen s, whe e ac o s such as
p opaga ion, in e e ence, and in as uc u e limi a ions can
4
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Ra opoulou e al.: E alua ion o 5G P i a e Ne wo ks o Enabling Use Cases in Remo e A eas
signi ican ly impac pe o mance. F om a high-le el pe spec-
i e, a 5G p i a e indoo ne wo k can o e mul iple use
cases beyond hose al eady explained in indus ial en i on-
men s, especially in u al a eas whe e indoo en i onmen s
like g eenhouses o local heal hca e and educa ion cen e s
can bene i g ea ly om ad anced connec i i y. Some exam-
ples a e: (i) au oma ion and senso ne wo ks in ag o- o es y
applica ions (e.g., sma g eenhouses equi ing eliable low-
la ency connec ions o p ecise clima e con ol o au oma ed
i iga ion), (ii) connec i i y in heal hca e cen e s and hos-
pi als o emo e moni o ing o emo e su ge y, which ha e
c i ical ul a-low la ency equi emen s, o (iii) connec i i y in
educa ion cen e s whe e i ual and augmen ed eali y classes
a e held, which may equi e high bandwid hs [28]–[30].
Gi en he p e ious use cases, his pape analyzes an indoo
5G p i a e ne wo k o assess he co e age and pe o mance
in e ms o la ency and h oughpu ha such a deploymen
can p o ide in a ealis ic indoo scena io such as an indus ial
en i onmen .
2) NETWORK DEPLOYMENT
(a)
(b)
FIGURE 1. (a) Pho og aph o he SIMCOM modem and he nex uni o
compu ing (NUC) assembled on he AMR, and he 5G SA co e loca ed in
he 5G Sma Lab, and (b) scena io h ough which he AMR na iga es.
Ai Scale indoo adio (ASiR) is illus a ed on he oo o he ac o y.
si ioning wi hin he labo a o y, he modem s o es da a ela ed
o ne wo k pe o mance and signal quali y. The e o e, by
synch onizing he imes amps om bo h ends i is possible o
accu a ely map he ne wo k pe o mance pa ame e s a each
loca ion in he indus ial scena io. The analysis o he adio
p opaga ion cha ac e is ics and pe o mance o he 5G p i a e
indoo ne wo k is p esen ed h oughou Sec ion IV.
B. FORESTRY
1) USE CASES
In No way, o es s co e oughly 33% o he coun y’s land
a ea, making hem a c ucial pa o bo h he economy and
en i onmen al managemen e o s. Sus ainable o es man-
agemen is cen al o No way’s s a egy, suppo ing he long-
e m i ali y o he o es s while enabling a wide ange o
economic ac i i ies. Howe e , he o es y sec o in No way
aces a signi ican challenge in e ms o digi aliza ion. The
The AAU 5G Sma P oduc ion Lab is a 1200 m2 esea ch
labo a o y loca ed a Aalbo g Uni e si y (Denma k), which
emula es he physical condi ions o an indus ial en i onmen .
The e o e, hese acili ies emula e an indus ial se ing wi h
mul iple p oduc ion lines, obo ic a ms o au onomous mobile
obo s. Due o he esea ch na u e o he en i onmen , he e
a e mul iple connec i i y solu ions deployed such as MUL-
TE i e, Wi-Fi 6 o p i a e 4G and 5G ne wo ks.
In he amewo k o his wo k, a 5G p i a e ne wo k de-
ployed in he lab has been assessed. This p i a e ne wo k is
connec ed o he public co e o a Danish ope a o h ough a
dedica ed co e-RAN o e a ibe connec ion. This solu ion,
deployed in he 3.7 GHz in equency ange 1 n78 band,
has a bandwid h o 100 MHz, a TDD ame con igu a ion
o 3 uplink and 7 downlink slo s, and a subca ie spac-
ing con igu a ion o 30 kHz. The p i a e ne wo k ha dwa e
deploymen consis s o a Nokia Mxie 5G SA co e and a
Nokia Ai Scale indoo adio uni , which can be isualized in
Figs. 1(a) and 1(b), espec i ely. The indoo adio uni , which
ac s as an access poin , p o ides co e age o one o he halls
o he acili y wi h an app oxima e a ea o 400 m2, and is
loca ed a a heigh o 5 m.
To analyze he pe o mance o he desc ibed p i a e ne -
wo k, a SIMCOM SIM8380G-M2 modem wi h suppo o
5G NSA/SA in he ne wo k ope a ing band is used as use
equipmen (UE). Fou an ennas a e connec ed o his UE
o ake ad an age o he modem’s mul iple-inpu mul iple-
ou pu (MIMO) capabili ies, as illus a ed in Fig. 1(a). To
moni o UE ope a ions, he UE is connec ed o a small
compu ing box (nex uni o compu ing) om which ping
and ipe commands un o e alua e ne wo k pe o mance.
Bo h he modem and he compu ing box a e placed on an
AMR wi h he abili y o na iga e he 5G Sma Lab ollowing
p ede ined ou es due o a LiDAR-based posi ioning sys em
(see Fig. 1(a)). While he AMR s o es da a ela ed o i s po-
5
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Ra opoulou e al.: E alua ion o 5G P i a e Ne wo ks o Enabling Use Cases in Remo e A eas
sec o ’s alue chain has no ye ully emb aced echnological
inno a ions, pa icula ly wi h ega d o connec i i y solu ions
[31]. As No way con inues o os e inno a ion ac oss a ious
sec o s, he e is an oppo uni y o boos he o es y indus y’s
esilience and sus ainabili y by adop ing digi al ans o ma-
ion and keeping pace wi h echnological de elopmen s. The
COMMECT p ojec has iden i ied wo key use cases whe e
5G p i a e ne wo ks could play a pi o al ole, as depic ed in
Fig. 2.
Remo e Ope a ional Suppo o Fo es Machine y Ope a-
o s: The o es y indus y aces a c i ical need o emo e ex-
pe assis ance du ing hinning and logging ac i i ies, whe e
ope a o s in he ield equi e immedia e guidance and suppo .
This challenge is compounded by he limi ed co e age and
pe o mance o public mobile ne wo ks in o es ed egions.
To add ess his, he p oposed solu ion in ol es deploying a
mobile 5G p i a e ne wo k on wheels (NoW), speci ically
designed o o es y en i onmen s, as shown in Fig. 2. This
5G p i a e NoW acili a es high-quali y ideo ansmission
om o es y machine y, enabling eal- ime emo e assis-
ance h ough online came as. Expe s om he o es ope a-
o ’s company can guide on-si eope a o s in making in o med
decisions. Addi ionally, his solu ion acili a es emo e main-
enance, diagnos ics, and epai s o machine y, wi h endo
expe s p o iding supe ision ia high-de ini ion ideo eeds.
Enhanced Si ua ional Awa eness in Fo es s: The inc easing
isk o o es i es, exace ba ed by clima e change, unde -
sco es he need o a sophis ica ed moni o ing and su eil-
lance sys em in o es ed a eas. Fo es s a e ulne able o a
ange o eme gencies, including wild i es, landslides, and
loods, necessi a ing ad anced solu ions o ensu e he sa e y
o bo h he en i onmen and eme gency esponde s, including
police, ambulances, i e depa men s, and olun ee s. Cu -
en sys ems equi e apid epo ing o inciden s, such as
i es, h ough digi al channels. In esponse, he NoW solu ion
shown in Fig. 2, in eg a ed wi h d one echnology and on-
he-g ound senso s, o e s a comp ehensi e moni o ing and
su eillance pla o m. This sys em enables he swi no i-
ica ion o eme gency pe sonnel du ing c i ical inciden s.
High- esolu ion, mul i-spec al came as moun ed on d ones
cap u e ae ial image y, which is ansmi ed in eal- ime ia
he p i a e 5G NoW o an ex e nal edge se e . The inclusion
o on-map analy ics u he enhances he abili y o isualize
o es condi ions, ensu ing imely and e ec i e esponses o
any ala ming changes.
2) NETWORK DEPLOYMENT
The COMMECT o es y use cases equi e subs an ial up-
link h oughpu o suppo he ansmission o high-quali y
ideo s eams om emo e o es y machine y and d ones.
To mee his demand, he concep o a 5G p i a e ne wo k,
speci ically he NoW, has been in oduced. The NoW unc-
ions as a sel -con ained sys em, in eg a ing 5G adio, 5G
co e, and ela ed applica ions wi hin a single, highly mobile
pla o m, as depic ed in Fig. 3(a). This con igu a ion enables
he apid deploymen o a s andalone 5G p i a e ne wo k
FIGURE 2. Depic ion o o es y use cases.
ha deli e s seamless 5G co e age. The a ic gene a ed
by NoW is backhauled h ough ei he e es ial ne wo ks
o sa elli e links, depending on he ope a ional equi emen s
and loca ion, allowing emo e access o cloud se ices o he
in e ne o expe consul a ions. To enhance eal- ime o es
moni o ing and si ua ional awa eness, he NoW’s Edge se e
can be equipped wi h a i icial in elligence (AI) and machine
lea ning algo i hms o de ec and espond o inciden s such as
o es i es o o he anomalies e icien ly.
To e alua e he sui abili y o NoW o o es y applica ions,
mul iple es s we e pe o med wi h he NoW, p o iding bo h
5G adio and 5G co e unc ionali ies, deployed in a selec ed
o es loca ion. The es s we e conduc ed using 80 MHz
o bandwid h in he 3.3–3.4 GHz equency ange, wi h a
ansmi powe o 35 dBm and an an enna heigh o 2.5 m.
An uplink-hea y TDD ame con igu a ion o 3 uplink and 7
downlink slo s was u ilized o p io i ize uplink pe o mance.
The measu emen loca ions wi hin he o es a e shown in
Fig. 3(b). Due o he dense o es canopy, measu emen s could
no be aken a he om he NoW deploymen poin . The
measu emen s we e conduc ed using a Huawei P40 sma -
phone, ac ing as a UE, held a a ypical na u al heigh o
1.5 m. The es s employed he web-based OpenSpeedTes
ool1, which was hos ed on he NoW’s Edge se e . This
ool measu es uplink and downlink h oughpu , and la ency,
di ec ly h ough a b owse , wi hou he need o addi ional
so wa e. These measu emen s a e pe o med using mul iple
ansmission con ol p o ocol (TCP) s eams. The dis ance
be ween he NoW and he UE was calcula ed using global
posi ioning sys em (GPS) coo dina es, wi h an accu acy o
app oxima ely 3 m. No ably, no backhaul was in ol ed in
his phase o es ing, as he ocus was on e alua ing he pe -
o mance o he 5G p i a e ne wo k i sel . The pe o mance
e alua ion is p esen ed in Sec ion IV.
C. LIVESTOCK TRANSPORTATION
1) USE CASES
One o he majo indus ies in Denma k is he pig indus-
y, which is highly egula ed by bo h he Eu opean Union
and he Danish au ho i ies o ensu e he wel a e o animals
be o e, du ing and a e hei anspo [32], [33]. Wi hin
he COMMECT p ojec , discussions ha e been aken place
1h ps://openspeed es .com/sel hos ed-speed es
6
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con en may change p io o inal publica ion. Ci a ion in o ma ion: DOI 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3603591
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Ra opoulou e al.: E alua ion o 5G P i a e Ne wo ks o Enabling Use Cases in Remo e A eas
FIGURE 3. (a) Ne wo k on Wheels (NoW), and (b) measu emen poin s in a dense o es wi h high ege a ion, whe e he base s a ion ma ks he loca ion
o he NoW.
2) NETWORK DEPLOYMENT
To suppo he li es ock anspo a ion use cases, he con-
nec i i y solu ion in Fig. 4 is p oposed. Speci ically, local
connec i i y a he (un)loading loca ion is p o ided wi h a
5G p i a e ne wo k, which is hen connec ed o he emo e
se e ia e es ial o sa elli e In e ne access. The choice o
backhaul depends on he a ailabili y o e es ial ne wo ks
a he (un)loading loca ion, which is ypically in u al a eas
wi h li le o no cellula co e age. In his wo k, and in e-
la ion o he li es ock anspo a ion use case, we assess he
pe o mance o a 5G p i a e ne wo k in e ms o co e age and
uplink h oughpu . Mo eo e , we assess he pe o mance o
he backhaul ia sa elli es, as he backhaul can signi ican ly
limi he expe ienced end- o-end uplink h oughpu .
Fo ou e alua ions, we pe o med ield es s a a a m
loca ion in The Ne he lands, whe e he Ama iso CallBox
Classic2, illus a ed in Fig. 5(a), was used o ac as an SNPN,
p o iding bo h 5G adio and 5G co e unc ionali ies. The
Ama iso was con igu ed in he n77 band, in pa icula be-
ween 3.825 GHz and 3.875 GHz and i s maximum ansmis-
sion powe was -20 dBm/MHz. Fo he measu emen s wo
di e en bandwid h sizes we e conside ed, i.e. 20 MHz and
50 MHz. Mo eo e , wo di e en TDD ame con igu a ions
we e conside ed. The i s TDD con igu a ion is ypically ec-
ommended o mos ly downlink o ien ed a ic and consis s
o 3 downlink slo s, 1 special slo and 1 uplink slo [24]. The
second TDD con igu a ion is an uplink hea y con igu a ion
as i consis s o 5 downlink slo s, 2 special slo and 3 uplink
slo s du ing a 10 slo s ame [24].
To pe o m he ele an co e age and uplink h oughpu
measu emen s, he Quec el RM502Q-GL has been used o ac
as a UE a di e en loca ions a he a m, which a e illus a ed
in Fig. 5(b). Fo he assessmen o he backhaul link, in e ms
2h ps://www.ama iso .com/ es -and-measu emen /de ice-
es ing/de ice-p oduc s/ama i-callbox-classic
wi h s akeholde s om he li es ock anspo a ion indus y
and wo po en ial use cases ha e been iden i ied ha will be
bene icial o he indus y.
Au oma ic license pla e ecogni ion: Fo a anspo a ion
uck o be allowed o en e a pigle (un)loading loca ion,
a check on he license pla e numbe should be pe o med.
This p ocess is impo an as ucks need o go h ough a
disin ec ion p ocess be o e being allowed a a (un)loading
loca ion and he uck’s clea ance is egis e ed o a da abase,
coupled o hei license pla e numbe . As a solu ion, i is
en isioned ha a came a will be ins alled on and con ol he
oad ba ie leading o he (un)loading loca ion. The came a
will upload he image o he license pla e o a emo e se e ,
which is connec ed o he da abase and whe e he ele an
so wa e uns.
Au oma ic animal coun ing and moni o ing: The animals
a e being coun ed du ing hei (un)loading om/ o he uck,
and hus an e icien and co ec animal coun ing is impo an .
Mo eo e , du ing he (un)loading p ocess, i is bene icial o
moni o and de ec he s a us o he animals, e.g. inju ies,
o ensu e ha hei heal h s a us emained unchanged du ing
hei anspo . The en isioned solu ion includes he deploy-
men o a came a a he (un)loading loca ion, which will li e
s eam a ideo o he (un)loading p ocess o a emo e se e ,
whe e he ele an so wa e will un.
The en isioned deploymen solu ions o bo h use cases is
simila i.e. deploymen o a came a ha will upload an im-
age/ ideo o a emo e se e . F om a communica ions poin o
iew, su icien uplink h oughpu , and hus co e age, should
be ensu ed bo h a he oad ba ie and a he (un)loading
loca ion. In e ms o uplink h oughpu , he 10 Mbps [34]
ha e been iden i ied as a minimum equi emen , whe eas o
co e age, ypically, an RSRP a ge o -120 dBm is chosen.
7
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con en may change p io o inal publica ion. Ci a ion in o ma ion: DOI 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3603591
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Ra opoulou e al.: E alua ion o 5G P i a e Ne wo ks o Enabling Use Cases in Remo e A eas
FIGURE 4. Li es ock anspo a ion use case wi h a 5G p i a e ne wo k.
o uplink h oughpu , he S a link S anda d V3 e minal3has
been connec ed o he Ama iso CallBox o p o ide connec-
i i y be ween he UE and a se e loca ed in Ams e dam.
Fo all uplink h oughpu measu emen s, he iPe 34has been
used in use da ag am p o ocol (UDP) mode, which is a
commonly used p o ocol o ideo s eaming codecs due o i s
la ency cha ac e is ics and packe loss ole ance. The esul s
on co e age, uplink h oughpu , and backhaul a e p esen ed
in Sec ion IV.
D. MINES
1) USE CASES
Open-pi o opencas mine ex ac s mine als om he su ace
ins ead o unde g ound. Open-pi mining is he mos common
me hod used in Tü kiye o mine al mining and does no
equi e ex ac i e me hods o unnels. This su ace mining
echnique is used when mine als o deposi s a e ela i ely
close o he su ace o he ea h. Open pi s a e some imes
called qua ies when building ma e ials and dimension s ones
a e p oduced.
Open-pi mines a e dug on di e en benches depending on
he exca a ion machine y. The walls o he open-pi mines a e
dug a an angle and include s eps o p e en a alanches om
occu ing inside he building si e. These walls in he open-
pi mines a e dange ous o he ope a o s o he exca a o s
and d i e s o he hea y dump ucks. The goal is o dec ease
acciden s and mis akes in he isky en i onmen o Tü kiye’s
open-pi mines wi h unmanned collabo a i e ehicles con-
nec ed o a p i a e ne wo k.
The p i a e ne wo k solu ion is de eloped o au oma ed
and eleope a ed ehicles in open-pi mines loca ed in ex-
emely subu ban a eas. Wi h he suppo o 5G in as uc u e,
AI-suppo ed cen al ask planning, and sma senso s, un-
manned collabo a i e ehicles will be de eloped and ope a ed
o exca a ion wo ks.
3h ps://www.s a link.com/speci ica ions
4h ps://ipe . /
2) NETWORK DEPLOYMENT
Wi h he scalabili y o he 5G open-pi mine p i a e ne wo k
a chi ec u e, wo expe ience zone ac i a ions ha e been ca -
ied ou a high-p o ile e en s, whe e pa icipan s we e able
o expe ience he con ol o exca a o om a emo e loca ion
800 km away, wi h a la ency o one- en h o he blink o
a human eye. In addi ion o enabling 5G s andalone edge
ne wo k in he open-pi mine p i a e ne wo k, he quali y o
se ices is gua an eed by AI-based esou ce op imisa ion o
ne wo k slicing echnology. The open-pi mine 5G p i a e
ne wo k solu ion is co e ed by i e oad side uni s and wo i-
b e base s a ions wi h ad anced cellula ehicle- o-e e y hing
use cases ha AI on he edge applica ions and 5G s andalone
edge ne wo k scalable a chi ec u e. The open-pi mine p i-
a e ne wo k deploymen uses 100 MHz o bandwid h in he
3.5–3.6 GHz equency ange, wi h a ansmi powe o 55
dBm and an an enna heigh o 18 m. The deploymen o i e
oad si e uni s is shown in Fig. 6.
The p oposed p i a e ne wo k aims o enable 5G connec i -
i y along wi h an edge ne wo k a chi ec u e ha p o ides AI-
assis ed pe cei ed ze o la ency and ul a- eliabili y in open-
pi mining a eas. The p i a e ne wo k deploymen includes
5G adio equipmen moun ed on he base s a ions in he demo
loca ion, he ans o ma ion o 5G si es in o 5G ib e si es,
and conduc ing aul es s. AI-assis ed pe cei ed ze o la ency
and ul a- eliabili y algo i hm was de eloped wi h he da a
collec ion pla o m designed and loca ed a open-pi mine
p i a e ne wo k. This pla o m was also designed o suppo
cus om da a gene a ion. The pe o mance e alua ion o he
p oposed p i a e ne wo k is p esen ed in Sec ion IV.
IV. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
This sec ion p esen s he pe o mance e alua ion o he p o-
posed 5G p i a e ne wo ks o suppo he p e iously de-
sc ibed use cases. The esul s a e p esen ed pe KPI a he
han pe use case o mo e easily showcase he di e ence in
pe o mance be ween he di e en ne wo k deploymen s on a
speci ic KPI. Mo eo e , ne wo k deploymen s ha e only been
e alua ed o he KPIs ha a e ele an o he associa ed use
cases. The e o e, no all ne wo k deploymen s a e compa ed
o each KPI. The KPIs ha a e unde in es iga ion a e co -
e age (in e ms o RSRP measu emen s), uplink h oughpu ,
downlink h oughpu , la ency, and uplink h oughpu o a
sa elli e backhaul.
A. COVERAGE
Co e age is an impo an KPI o all ne wo k deploymen s
as i de ines he a ea whe e he UEs can connec o he
ne wo k. Typically, o de e mine he co e age a ea, RSRP
measu emen s a e pe o med a di e en loca ions, based on
a e e ence signal ansmi ed by he ne wo k. The RSRP, and
hence he co e age, depend among o he s on he ansmi
powe , an enna gains, and he p opaga ion condi ions in he
en i onmen . The e o e, o each ne wo k deploymen , he
RSRP alues o e di e en dis ances a e p esen ed. No e ha
8
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con en may change p io o inal publica ion. Ci a ion in o ma ion: DOI 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3603591
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Ra opoulou e al.: E alua ion o 5G P i a e Ne wo ks o Enabling Use Cases in Remo e A eas
FIGURE 5. (a) Measu emen se up wi h Ama iso CallBox Classic and (b) measu emen loca ions a he a m.
FIGURE 6. Ne wo k deploymen o open-pi mine p i a e ne wo k.
ypically a loca ion is conside ed as co e ed when he RSRP
exceeds -120 dBm.
1) Indoo En i onmen s
whe e he signal d ops o −80 dBm due o he blocking o he
signal gi en he machine y and acks p esen in he scena io.
To analyze in mo e de ail he beha io o he RSRP o e
dis ance, Fig. 8(a) shows he ela ion be ween bo h pa ame-
e s, whe e a dec ease o he RSRP is obse ed as he dis ance
inc eases due o p opaga ion a enua ion. To quan i a i ely
e alua e he dec ease in RSRP, he pa h gain can be modeled
simply h ough a slope-in e cep model which accoun s o
he pa h loss exponen n[35]. Conside ing he linea ela ion
be ween RSRP and pa h gain gi en he ixed ansmi powe
and he omnidi ec ional gain o he an ennas in UE and AP,
RSRP cu es in e ms o dis ance can be es ablished o
di e en alues o pa h loss exponen n. The e o e, adio
p opaga ion condi ions can be de e mined aking in o accoun
a loss exponen n= 2 o ee space as a baseline. Re e ing
o Fig. 8(a), i can be obse ed ha he sca e plo ends o
con e ge o alues close o he cu es deno ed by n= 3 and
n= 4. These alues a e simila o hose obse ed in indus ial
en i onmen s wi h high machine y densi y in he s a e o he
a [22], [36]. Finally, i is wo h no ing he egion loca ed
wi hin he ange o 10 o 13 m, whe e a sha p d op in RSRP is
obse ed. This egion co esponds o he p e iously desc ibed
a ea ha expe iences o al signal blockage, elying on signal
e lec ions and di ac ions in he en i onmen a he han on
LoS.
2) Fo es y
Fig. 8(b) shows he RSRP alues agains he a ying dis ance
inside he deep o es . The RSRP measu emen s in a deep
o es en i onmen demons a e a clea a enua ion o signal
s eng h wi h inc easing dis ance om he NoW loca ion.
A a sho dis ance o 15 m, he RSRP is s ong a -35
dBm, indica ing minimal signal loss. Howe e , as he dis ance
inc eases, he signal s eng h diminishes signi ican ly. A 133
m, he RSRP d ops o -68 dBm, highligh ing he impac
o dense oliage on signal p opaga ion. Beyond 200 m, he
signal deg ada ion becomes mo e p onounced, wi h RSRP
alues eaching -87 dBm a 207 m and -98 dBm a 286
m. These measu emen s unde line he challenging na u e o
Gi en he se up explained in Sec ion III.A and illus a ed in
Fig. 1, we e alua ed he indoo co e age as he s eng h signal
ecei ed along he hall in he indus ial scena io. Fo his
pu pose, we p oceed o na iga e a ou e wi h he AMR in
which he UE measu es he RSRP le el a di e en loca ions
in he hall. Fig. 7(a) shows he ange be ween he UE−access
poin link gi en he di e en AMR loca ions wi hin he lab.
This ange a ies be ween 8 m when he AMR is in he
icini y o he access poin and 22 m when he AMR na iga es
he no he n pa o he lab. No ably, he e is line-o -sigh
(LoS) be ween he UE and he access poin in mos loca ions
o he hall, excep in he wes e n a ea, whe e a ack wi h hea y
machine y blocks he link. Fig. 7(b) shows he RSRP acqui ed
on he na iga ed ou e. No e ha his alue is calcula ed as he
a e age ecei ed signal in he synch oniza ion signal blocks
ha he ne wo k ansmi s wi h 20 ms pe iodici y. Rega ding
he sou h loca ion o he hall, he RSRP eaches alues o
a ound −60 dBm due o he LoS condi ion, and he sho
ange o he link. In he no he n pa , hese alues dec ease
o alues below −70 dBm due o he la ge link ange. I is
no able ha in he wes e n pa , he e is an ab up ansi ion
9
This a icle has been accep ed o publica ion in IEEE Access. This is he au ho 's e sion which has no been ully edi ed and
con en may change p io o inal publica ion. Ci a ion in o ma ion: DOI 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3603591
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Ra opoulou e al.: E alua ion o 5G P i a e Ne wo ks o Enabling Use Cases in Remo e A eas
p oposed o add ess he connec i i y challenges in emo e
a eas and enable new use cases. In pa icula , use cases
wi hin ou di e en en i onmen s ha e been conside ed,
namely indoo en i onmen s ( o e.g. heal hca e o educa-
ional cen e s), o es y, li es ock anspo a ion, and mines.
The p oposed ne wo k deploymen s a e di e se in e ms o
ha dwa e (and hus cos ) and con igu a ion, and hey ha e
been e alua ed ia ield ials. The esul s ha e shown ha
he deployed ne wo ks can suppo he p esen ed use cases
and ha he e is a clea ade-o be ween pe o mance and
cos . This highligh s he need o designing 5G p i a e ne -
wo ks based on he use case and he espec i e equi emen s,
which could po en ially lead o new business models and
oppo uni ies wi hin he elecom sec o . The e o e, his wo k
has pe o med an empi ical assessmen and alida ion ac oss
challenging and unde explo ed emo e scena ios, which a e
essen ial o unde s anding he easibili y and limi a ions o
5G p i a e ne wo ks in u al con ex s.
Fo u u e wo k, we p opose o s udy he pe o mance o
o he echnologies which could po en ially suppo he use
cases, e.g. Wi-Fi. Then, a mo e in-dep h cos bene i anal-
ysis will p o ide u he insigh s on he applicabili y o 5G
p i a e ne wo ks, he oppo uni ies ha hey b ing and hei
challenges. Addi ionally, u he analysis is ecommended on
he backhaul pe o mance, as i can signi ican ly limi he 5G
p i a e ne wo k pe o mance. Apa om sa elli e communi-
ca ions o he backhaul, an al e na i e wo h in es iga ing is
ixed wi eless access. Finally, i is ecommended o pe o m
end- o-end measu emen s o in es iga e he impac o all he
componen s in he ne wo k and no only he pe o mance o
he 5G p i a e ne wo k.
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con en may change p io o inal publica ion. Ci a ion in o ma ion: DOI 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3603591
This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 License. Fo mo e in o ma ion, see h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/
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MARIA RAFTOPOULOU ecei ed he MEng
deg ee in Elec ical and Compu e Enginee ing
om he Na ional Technical Uni e si y o A hens,
G eece, in 2016 and he MSc deg ee cum laude
in Telecommunica ions and Sensing Sys ems om
he Del Uni e si y o Technology, The Ne he -
lands, in 2018. She also ecei ed he PhD deg ee
a he Del Uni e si y o Technology, in 2024.
Be ween 2018-2019, she wo ked as a Technology
Young Talen a KPN, The Ne he lands. She is
cu en ly wo king as a Scien is Inno a o a he Ne he lands O ganisa ion o
Applied Scien i ic Resea ch (TNO), The Ne he lands. He esea ch in e es s
include adio esou ce managemen and op imisa ion o e wi eless ne wo ks.
MUHAMMAD FAHEEM AWAN is wo king as
Resea ch Scien is a Teleno Resea ch and Inno-
a ion Uni , Fo nebu No way. He has ecei ed his
PhD deg ee in Elec onics and Telecommunica-
ions om No wegian Uni e si y o Science and
Technology, NTNU, No way, in 2020. His cu en
esea ch in e es s include 5G and Beyond 5G adio
access echnologies, ad ance 5G/B5G use cases,
5G Posi ioning and mission c i ical communica-
ions.
MEHMET IZZET SAĞLAM ecei ed his B.S. de-
g ee in elec ical and elec onics enginee ing om
Çuku o a Uni e si y in 2001, and his M.S. and
PhD deg ees in wi eless communica ion om Is-
anbul Technical Uni e si y, in 2003 and 2018,
espec i ely. His execu i e MBA deg ee is om
Yıldız Technical Uni e si y. He is a esea che and
3GPP RAN WG2 delega e a Tu kcell R&D. His
cu en esea ch in e es s include 5G Ad anced
and 6G adio access ne wo ks.
LJUPCO JORGUSESKI g adua ed (Dipl. Ing.,
1996) a he Uni e si y Cy il and Me hodius,
Skopje, Republic o Macedonia , and ob ained a
Ph.D. deg ee (2008) om he Aalbo g Uni e si y,
Denma k. F om 1997 o 1999 he wo ked as applied
esea che a TU Del ollowed by a esea ch posi-
ion on wi eless 3G/4G sys ems a KPN Resea ch,
The Ne he lands, ill 2003. Since 2003 he is a
senio consul an on wi eless access a TNO o-
cusing on adio planning and (sel -)op imiza ion o
wi eless ne wo ks, and 3GPP and O-RAN Alliance s anda diza ion ac i i ies.
He has (co-)au ho ed o e 30 publica ions in con e ences, jou nals, book
chap e s and pa en applica ions.
FLORIS DRIJVER was bo n in Leide do p, The
Ne he lands on 20 h o Feb ua y 1994. He e-
cei ed his B.S.E. deg ee in Elec ical Enginee -
ing om Del Uni e si y o echnology, and he
MSc. deg ee in Elec ical Enginee ing: Telecom-
munica ions and Sensing sys ems also om Del
Uni e si y o Technology. F om 2017 he is wi h
he Ne wo ks depa men o TNO (Ne he lands
O ganisa ion o Applied Scien i ic Resea ch) as
a Senio Scien is . His ocus has been on 4G and
la e 5G and 6G ield labs. He is cu en ly he echnical lead o he Fu u e
Ne wo k Se ices (FNS) Na ional 6G es bed.
PAWEŁ MAĆKOWIAK was bo n in Poznań,
Poland on 14 h o Sep embe 1995. He ecei ed
he B.S.E. deg ee in Elec onics and Telecommu-
nica ions om Poznan Uni e si y o Technology,
and he MSc. deg ee in Elec ical Enginee ing
om Del Uni e si y o Technology. F om 2019
o 2025, he was wi h he Ne wo ks depa men o
TNO (Ne he lands O ganisa ion o Applied Sci-
en i ic Resea ch) as a Resea ch Scien is . He is
cu en ly a Field So wa e Enginee in he Da a
Cen e En e p ise eam o Canonical. His esea ch in e es s include 5G/6G
and cloud compu ing.
ALEJANDRO RAMÍREZ-ARROYO was bo n in
Có doba, Spain, in 1997. He ecei ed he B.Sc.
deg ee, M.Sc deg ee and Ph.D in elecommunica-
ion enginee ing om he Uni e si y o G anada
(UGR), Spain, in 2019, 2021 and 2023, espec-
i ely. F om 2019 o 2024, he was wi h he Sma
Wi eless Applica ions and Technologies (SWAT)
Resea ch G oup in he Depa men o Signal The-
o y, Telema ics, and Communica ions, Uni e si y
o G anada. In 2022, he was wi h he Wi eless
Communica ion Ne wo ks sec ion, Aalbo g Uni e si y (AAU), Denma k, as
an in i ed Ph.D. S uden . Since 2024, he is a Pos Doc o al Resea che in
he Depa men o Elec onic Sys ems, Aalbo g Uni e si y (AAU), Denma k.
His cu en esea ch in e es s include op imiza ion echniques, adio p opa-
ga ion and channel cha ac e iza ion o mmWa es and 5G communica ions.
17
This a icle has been accep ed o publica ion in IEEE Access. This is he au ho 's e sion which has no been ully edi ed and
con en may change p io o inal publica ion. Ci a ion in o ma ion: DOI 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3603591
This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 License. Fo mo e in o ma ion, see h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/
Ra opoulou e al.: E alua ion o 5G P i a e Ne wo ks o Enabling Use Cases in Remo e A eas
MARIA RITA PALATTELLA holds a bachelo ’s
deg ee in Telecommunica ion Enginee ing (2004)
and a mas e ’s deg ee in Telecommunica ion Engi-
nee ing (2007), bo h wi h hono , om Poli ecnico
di Ba i, I aly. She ob ained he PhD in Elec on-
ics Enginee ing om ‘‘Scuola In e poli ecnica di
Do o a o’’ (SIPD) and Poli ecnico di Ba i, I aly, in
Feb ua y 2011. F om 2011 o 2016 she was a Re-
sea ch Associa e a he In e disciplina y cen e o
Secu i y, Reliabili y and T us (SnT), a he Uni-
e si y o Luxembou g. She con ibu ed o he design o MAC p o ocols and
ene gy-e icien scheduling algo i hms o Wi eless Senso Ne wo ks. She
was in ol ed in se e al EU FP7 and H2020 p ojec s, including OUTSMART,
IoT6, F-In e op. Since 2016, she joined he Luxembou g Ins i u e o Science
and Technology (LIST), in he En i onmen al Resea ch and Inno a ion
(ERIN) depa men , as a Senio Resea ch and Technology Associa e. Since
Oc obe 2024, she is a P incipal Scien is , leading he wo k on he design o
inno a i e communica ion sys ems and ne wo k a chi ec u es o di e en
In e ne o Things (IoT) applica ions, wi h a ocus on digi al ag icul u e. He
cu en esea ch in e es ocuses on IoT-NTN, and she has con ibu ed o his
esea ch opic h ough se e al p ojec s: ESA ITT M2MSAT, FNR LORSAT,
SMC Lux5GCloud, Sa Nex V ONION, and INVENTIVE. Cu en ly she is
coo dina ing he HEU COMMECT p ojec , aiming o ex end connec i i y in
u al emo e a ea, in eg a ing 5G public and p i a e ne wo ks, IoT cellula
and no cellula (NB-IoT, LoRa, e c.), NTN (sa elli es and d ones), o make
u al communi ies mo e sus ainable and compe i i e. She is also he PI o he
GEH LIFE and FNR 5G-AGROBOT p ojec s, in es iga ing he use o Digi al
Twins and Robo ics in con olled ag icul u e en i onmen s. She is s ongly
engaged wi h Telecommunica ion and Space Indus y, and IoT companies in
Luxembou g, and ab oad, as e idence by he collabo a ion in se e al na ional
and in e na ion p ojec s wi h local and ex e nal s akeholde s. She si s on
he Edi o ial Boa d o he T ansac ions on Eme ging Telecommunica ions
Technologies, and he EAI T ansac ions on IoT. She has (co)-au ho ed se e al
pape s published in well known, high-impac jou nals and in e na ional
con e ences, and wo pa en s.
18
This a icle has been accep ed o publica ion in IEEE Access. This is he au ho 's e sion which has no been ully edi ed and
con en may change p io o inal publica ion. Ci a ion in o ma ion: DOI 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3603591
This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 License. Fo mo e in o ma ion, see h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/
