Comparing 5G Network Latency Utilizing Native Security Algorithms

While Fifth Generation (5G) wireless technology promises higher data throughput rates and reduced latency in comparison to previous generations of cellular communications, the addition of encryption between communicating nodes presents potential overhead costs to the system in terms of increased processing time, thereby leading to an increase in network latency. Given that modern Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 5G use cases both require exceptional network speed coupled with security, the choice of security algorithms is a critical element. This paper offers a live 5G testbed setup and methodology to analyze measured round trip times between a user device and a 5G network-in-a-box using the four native 128-bit ciphering algorithms as specified by current Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) telecommunications standards. We perform these tests using the Amarisoft AMARI Callbox Mini, a 3GPP-compliant 5G network. Our initial findings show there is no statistically significant relationship between enabled ciphering algorithms and latency given one user device and the 5G network core within the Amarisoft 5G ecosystem, though our setup and methodology allow for expanding this research with multiple devices and longer experiment durations to understand how to best balance network latency and security requirements in a complex wireless network.