Measuring the Mobile Gap: From Network Performance to Infrastructure Criticality

Mobile networks are evolving rapidly, with 5G promising transformative gains in speed, reliability, and latency. However, these advancements do not always translate to improved user experience, due to device limitations, congestion, and inconsistent infrastructure deployment. This disconnect between network capability and actual user experience raises key questions about the design, measurement, and investment in mobile broadband systems. My research addresses this gap through the use of edge user measurements of mobile broadband performance. These measurements predominantly consist of crowdsourced network performance measurements and controlled experiments. Broadly, I develop statistical methods to analyze real-world performance variability and also identify performance bottlenecks, and utilize insight from my analyses to inform infrastructure planning and policy, helping ensure that technological advances lead to more consistent and equitable user outcomes. This extended abstract presents results from recent analyses, outlines my methodological approach, and discusses future directions aimed at advancing both technical understanding and policy design in the mobile broadband landscape.