# Performance of the 5 th Generation Indoor Wireless Technologies-Empirical Study
## 1 Introduction  
While research is already taking it first steps towards sixth generation (6G) networks, 5G connectivity has started to take place in actual commercial networks and research test beds around the globe, of which the 5G and beyond test network in Finland [1] is one of the infrastructures. The validation of the 5G use cases through information gathered from extensive field and laboratory measurements with actual hardware, software, and equipment can provide valuable knowledge for future development and implementation for 5G technology. The evaluation and measurements concluded in this paper using the latest Wi-Fi and 5G communication technologies already reveal the performance and limitations for their use in real operating environments. As this paper illustrates with live measurements conducted in our 5G test network, the performance of current wireless technologies is sufficient to meet both latency and data rate requirements. 5G evolution has enabled transmissions with a data rate with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) for decreasing the network delay. These elements are critical when the quality of experience/service (QoE/QoS) based services are designed in a wireless environment relying only the available cellularconnection with high reliability. The 5G network slicing feature [2; 3] enables prioritized services for improving reliability. The services can contain critical and highly prioritized data, whose reception in the terminal should be flawless within the expected time frame. In many industrial wireless applications, delay jitter is more important than the average delay, because delay fluctuations can be more severe for the time-sensitive applications. The huge leap in performance made possible by 5G will allow network operators to offer wireless broadband as a real alternative to people's primary internet connection, together with traditional broadband technologies. However, Wi-Fi development has evolved rapidly alongside the cellular standardization, and the usage of Wi-Fi in some use cases can be even more beneficial. The development of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E sees Wi-Fi as the most efficient and noteworthy way to connect an ever-increasing number of home devices such as computers, televisions, phones, and smart speakers [4]. Similarly to in 5G network slicing, Wi-Fi 6 possesses slicing feature for enabling flexible radio resource management for specific applications. Aruba Air Slice [5] is one of the examples. The development of Wi-Fi 7 is already in the pipeline, aiming at 4.8 times higher data rates than Wi-Fi 6 [6]. Thus, it is foreseen that cellular technologies will dominate the use cases related to wide-area coverage, whereas Wi-Fi technologies are more suitable for indoor scenarios due to their lower deployment costs [7]. The usability of 5 th-generation technology is being approached through various vertical sectors. The 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G PPP) [8] defines the following main verticals: Automotive, Manufacturing, Media, Energy, eHealth, Public Safety, and Smart Cities. In order to understand the real capabilities and limitations of the technology, several pilots have been realised. For automotive, there have been studies related to connected and autonomous cars [9; 10; 11]. Manufacturing sector hosts huge opportunities and studies, such as [12; 13; 14; 15]. Video broadcasting and delivery studies [16] have paved the way for the scalable high-quality media delivery solutions. The latest studies on the eHealth sector [17] have introduced new innovation solutions in order to increase the quality of life that can benefit from 5G technology. Smart energy grids and cities, together with public safety solutions [18; 19; 20], are showing very promising results towards a more reliable and secure society for the future. What is common in most of the vertical sectors is the clear benefit of higher capacity and better performance introduced by the latest wireless technologies.