5G NR throughput calculation: RBs × layers × modulation × coding rate

The 3GPP Throughput Formula

Understanding how to calculate 5G NR throughput is essential for every optimization engineer. The 3GPP formula from TS 38.306 for maximum data rate per component carrier is: Throughput = J x Rmax x Qm x v x f x NRB x 12 x (1 - OH) / Tus. Each variable maps to a physical parameter: J is the number of aggregated carriers, Rmax is the maximum coding rate (948/1024 or approximately 0.926), Qm is the modulation order in bits per symbol (QPSK=2, 16QAM=4, 64QAM=6, 256QAM=8), v is the number of MIMO layers, NRB is the resource block count determined by bandwidth and SCS, and OH is the overhead factor…