Size a 5G gNodeB across its cells: air-interface capacity, N3 midhaul transport and supported connected devices.
A 5G site aggregates several cells across bands and sectors, and its transport link only needs to carry the busy-hour offered load rather than the theoretical sum of every cell's peak. GTP-U encapsulation and IPsec then add a fixed percentage on top. Midhaul and backhaul upgrades have long lead times and civil-works costs, so the N3 figure — not the air-interface peak — is what belongs in the transport order.
gNodeB Capacity
site capacity = cells × per-cell capacity; N3 transport = site capacity × planned load × (1 + encapsulation overhead).
site capacity = cells × per-cell capacity; N3 transport = site capacity × planned load × (1 + encapsulation overhead). A 5G site aggregates several cells across bands and sectors, and its transport link only needs to carry the busy-hour offered load rather than the theoretical sum of every cell's peak. GTP-U encapsulation and IPsec then add a fixed percentage on top.
Midhaul and backhaul upgrades have long lead times and civil-works costs, so the N3 figure — not the air-interface peak — is what belongs in the transport order.
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Cells on the site, Usable capacity per cell, Planned busy-hour load, RRC-connected devices per cell, N3 encapsulation and security overhead. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.