5G NR Throughput & Capacity Calculator

Method, Assumptions and References

Calculation Method

Throughput follows the 3GPP TS 38.306 §4.1.2 approximate maximum data rate formula:

Rate (Mbps) = v_layers × Q_m × f × R_max × (N_PRB × 12 / T_s^μ) × (1 − OH) × 10^-6

• v_layers — MIMO spatial layers per direction
• Q_m — modulation order (QPSK 2, 16QAM 4, 64QAM 6, 256QAM 8, 1024QAM 10)
• f — scaling factor per TS 38.306 Table 4.1.2-1 (1.00 / 0.80 / 0.75 / 0.40)
• R_max = 948/1024 (maximum LDPC code rate)
• T_s^μ = 10^-3 / (14 × 2^μ) — average OFDM symbol duration for the selected numerology
• OH — overhead: FR1 DL 0.14, FR1 UL 0.08, FR2 DL 0.18, FR2 UL 0.10
• N_PRB — maximum transmission bandwidth per TS 38.101-1/-2 Table 5.3.2-1

Key Assumptions

• Results are theoretical peak rates with full resource utilisation and maximum MIMO rank
• TDD rates are scaled by the DL and UL slot share of the selected slot format; flexible (F) slots are excluded from both directions (conservative)
• FDD bands carry DL and UL simultaneously on paired spectrum, so both directions run at full rate
• Per-CPE figures assume equal scheduling across the configured number of CPEs/users
• Real-world throughput will be lower — radio conditions, scheduler behaviour, interference, device category and transport all reduce achievable rates

3GPP References

• TS 38.306: User Equipment radio access capabilities (§4.1.2 data rate formula)
• TS 38.101-1: UE radio transmission and reception; Part 1: Range 1 Standalone
• TS 38.101-2: UE radio transmission and reception; Part 2: Range 2 Standalone
• TS 38.211: Physical channels and modulation
• TS 38.213: Physical layer procedures for control (slot formats)
• TS 38.104: Base Station radio transmission and reception