Performance analysis of 5G High-Power User Equipment (HPUE) in urban environment

Time Division Duplexing (TDD) in 5G New Radio (NR) networks enables higher downlink throughput by utilizing middle frequency bands. However, these higher frequencies also result in increased path loss, leading to degraded uplink performance and reduced Quality of Experience (QoE), particularly under suboptimal conditions. As demand grows for high uplink throughput driven by emerging applications such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Metaverse, Internet of Things (IoT), and Smart City services, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has introduced High-Power User Equipment (HPUE) for 5G TDD bands. HPUE allows mobile devices to transmit at power levels exceeding 23 dBm, aiming to enhance QoE, especially at cell edges. Despite its potential benefits, HPUE may adversely affect the uplink performance of users with non-HPUE devices on the network, especially in high-density area. This work evaluates HPUE performance on a commercial 5G network by examining QoS parameters including Uplink Throughput, Modulation Efficiency, Re-transmission Rate (ReTx Rate), and Power Consumption in both Standalone (SA) and Non-Standalone (NSA) architecture, in dense urban scenarios. The analysis also includes comparisons across different power classes and antenna configurations through modem firmware modifications. Additionally, MATLAB simulations are used to assess intra-cell and inter-cell interference effects in these scenarios.