QoE Evaluation of Integrated Satellite-Terrestrial Network on a Real-World Testbed
Authors : Mahshid Noorani, Asim Zoulkarni, and John S. Baras
Conference : 2022 IEEE Future Networks World Forum (FNWF'22) pp. 573-577 , Arlington, VA
Date: September 13 - September 15, 2022
Integrated Satellite Terrestrial Networks (ISTNs) play a critical role in achieving the key promises of 5G and 6G and providing broadband connectivity globally, especially where extending terrestrial infrastructure is cost prohibitive. Offloading part of the terrestrial traffic load to the satellite network is a cost-effective solution to avoid congestion and enhance the overall capacity of next-generation networks. However, such an integration introduces several design challenges with regard to managing the heterogeneity of the network, satisfying the latency and throughput requirements of different application types, and minimizing the overall cost of deployment. In this work, we set up a real-world ISTN testbed utilizing Hughes Network Systems’ laboratory to evaluate the Quality of Experience (QoE) of several popular applications over a hybrid terrestrial-satellite broadband connection. The results indicate that the proposed ISTN’s versatility and its ability to utilize intelligent path control improve QoE for common applications, even at modest levels of wireless bandwidth.
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