Test and Measurement: Opensignal looks at live video streaming uplift for 5G vs. 4G

On a global basis, 5G is making an appreciable difference in the mobile user experience of watching live video, according to new analysis by Opensignal. The boost is particularly evident in European countries as well as some Asian-Pacific markets, but not quite so much in the Americas.

Opensignal says this is the first benchmarking of its kind for the 100 global markets that it analyzed.

Live video is tricky because users often want to watch those video streams at the busiest times of day for the network, Opensignal noted; popular, prime-time television shows and sports events are often within the same timeframe, and the experience of watching live video of events happening in real-time requires “considerable back-end infrastructure that ensures reliable and high-quality distribution in real-time,” the company added, as opposed to on-demand viewing of pre-recorded video content.

In Opensignal’s analysis, European markets dominate the list of the top 20 markets with the best live video experience, with only three markets outside of Europe (South Korea, Taiwan and Canada) making that list.

The United States was a middling performer in the regional Americas market. Canada was the top performer in the region in live video viewing experience, while the U.S. tied with Argentina for sixth among countries in the Americas. “The relatively lower scores in the U.S. are in part due to more use of data traffic management and optimization by carriers that affect video streaming,” OpenSignal said.

In other test news:

-Preparations for Mobile World Congress Barcelona are in full swing, with the event starting on February 27. Viavi Solutions is highlighting its demonstration with AWS on increased power efficiency as a real-world use case for O-RAN, leveraging Viavi’s TeraVM RIC Test and rApps on a non-real time RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), with AWS hosting; Keysight Technologies is demonstrating 5G New Radio Reduced Capability (RedCap) for IoT, emulation of non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and emulation for testing of metaverse AR/VR devices, as well as support for Open RAN testing and various areas of 6G research and development, among others.

–Keysight Technologies said this week that its 5G Open RAN testing portfolio was used to enable Pegatron to obtain the first badge from O-RAN Alliance for end-toend system integration, via the Auray Open Testing and Integration Center (OTIC) and Security Lab.

Keysight also said that Japanese testing and certification lab DSP research will be using its test solutions for certification of that devices meet radio frequency regulatory requirements.

–Rohde & Schwarz said this week that manufacturers of IoT chipsets are using its R&S CMX500 in research and development and type-approval stages for RedCap solutions.