Practical Insights from Benchmarking Open-Source 5G Standalone MIMO in Indoor Environments

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive benchmark study of a real-life 5G Standalone (SA) deployment with different Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) configurations (1x1, 2x2, and 4x4) in an indoor office environment. We evaluate the impact of distance, obstacles, and material composition on key performance metrics, including throughput, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR), and Rank Indicator (RI). The results demonstrate that while higher-order MIMO configurations can deliver substantial throughput gains under favorable conditions, their effectiveness is fundamentally constrained by environmental factors such as signal attenuation, multipath propagation, and material-induced losses. Our results provide practical guidelines for indoor network planning and optimization, establishing concrete performance baseline for open-source 5G systems in typical office scenarios highlighting the critical importance of site selection.