Performance Analysis of Outdoor Open RAN Deployments in Long-Haul 5G Networks using the OpenRAN@Brasil Testbed

This paper presents the OpenRAN@Brasil testbed, designed to address the challenges of Open RAN deployments in Brazil. It is composed by commercial off-the-shelf 5G Open RAN components, distributed over two sites, and interconnected by a 400 km midhaul link. We use this to evaluate end-to-end network performance (latency and throughput) under diverse signal conditions. Results show that the long-haul link increases latency to up to 28 ms, degrading downlink throughput by up to 400 Mbps, while the lower uplink throughput is less affected. These findings highlight the importance of strategic RAN component placement and robust signal quality for optimizing Open RAN performance in challenging environments, particularly within the Brazilian ecosystem.