Understanding 5G New Radio

Last updated: April, 2026

About this book

Understanding 5G New Radio: An Experimental Approach (Yashvanth L, Pranav Viswanathan, Chandra R. Murthy; Springer, 2026) is an open-access book that teaches 5G New Radio through hands-on simulation alongside the underlying theory. Each of the ten chapters pairs a focused theoretical primer with a NetSim experiment that the reader runs, modifies, and interprets.

The book is open access and can be read or downloaded from Springer Nature Link: link.springer.com/book/9789819201112.

About these companion resources

This page hosts the software and workspace files required to reproduce the experiments in the book. The NetSim v13.3 installer is the simulation environment the authors used. The .netsimexp archive contains the ten pre-built workspaces, one per chapter, with the parameter sets, traffic profiles, and trace settings used in the book. Faculty can use the workspaces directly in classroom labs. Researchers and graduate students can use them as a starting point for extending the scenarios.

Each experiment in the book includes:

• Learning objectives and required theoretical background
• Detailed simulation configuration (parameters, topology, protocols)
• Step-by-step walkthrough of the NetSim workspace
• Expected results and analytical exercises
• Discussion questions and further reading

5G Experiments (Chapter‑wise)

1. 5G NR Physical Layer

• Understand the OFDM time–frequency resource grid
• Learn how data is transmitted in 5G NR PHY
• Analyze throughput based on system parameters
• Perform simulation and validate results

2. 5G MIMO Beamforming (MISO & SIMO)

• Study MIMO, MISO, and SIMO concepts
• Understand Rayleigh fading channels
• Analyze beamforming gain vs antenna count
• Evaluate throughput improvement

3. 5G NR Pathloss Models

• Analyze pathloss vs UE–gNB distance
• Compare LOS and NLOS scenarios
• Study impact of gNB height
• Identify optimal deployment parameters

4. Transport Block Processing (PHY)

• Explore OFDM time-frequency grid
• Understand transport block processing steps
• Analyze coding, modulation, and mapping
• Estimate achievable throughput

5. SU-MIMO OFDMA Performance

• Evaluate single-user vs multi-user scenarios
• Study resource allocation in OFDMA
• Analyze performance under different configurations
• Compare throughput across users

6. Numerology Impact (Latency & Throughput)

• Study subcarrier spacing effects
• Analyze latency vs throughput trade-off
• Compare TCP and UDP performance
• Evaluate impact on system efficiency

7. Interference Modeling in 5G

• Analyze inter-cell interference effects
• Study impact on cell-edge users
• Evaluate SINR variations
• Understand network performance degradation

8. Handover Mechanisms in 5G NR

• Study handover algorithms and signaling
• Analyze throughput variation during mobility
• Evaluate delay during handover
• Understand seamless connectivity

9. MAC Scheduling Algorithms

• Compare Max-Rate, RR, and PF schedulers
• Analyze fairness vs throughput trade-off
• Evaluate scheduling under varying conditions
• Study multi-user performance

10. Massive MIMO Systems

• Understand large-scale antenna systems
• Study channel hardening effects
• Analyze eigenvalue distribution
• Evaluate theoretical performance limits