Performance Comparison of GPRS and LTE Telecommunication Network using OpenAirInterface and OpenBTS with USRP

OpenBTS and OpenAirInterface (OAI) are alternatives to building cellular networks on a portable basis using a computer. They can be useful for providing telecommunication access in emergency situations. GPRS and LTE cellular networks can be formed using OpenBTS and OAI with the help of software defined radio (SDR), such as USRP B210. Providing both GPRS and LTE in emergency situation may better serve the telecommunication requirements. This work focuses on comparative performance evaluations of GPRS and LTE. Our evaluation includes throughput, delay, jitter, and percentage of packet loss. OpenBTS yields throughput, delay, jitter and packet loss of 62.34 KBps, 1.03s, 433.47 ms, and 5.20%, respectively. On the other hand, OAI yields 2.17 MBps, 54.44 ms, 12.48 ms, and 3.12%, respectively. The use of OpenBTS do not support current services such as video access and search. The percentage results of LTE quality for browsing were 69.96% and streaming was 83.80%. LTE optimizes the QoS compared to former use of GPRS up to 34.92 times better for throughput, 19.04 times for smaller delays, 34.73 times for smaller jitters, and 1.66 times for lower packet loss.