Qos and Qoe Analysis of Audio and Video Streaming for 5G/Wi-Fi Tactical Mesh Networks Deployments

Wi-Fi mesh networks are an excellent complementary solution to extend the reach of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mathbf{5 G}$</tex> infrastructure, particularly by providing local coverage or backhaul connectivity in hard-to-reach areas. However, the deployment of audio and video services in mesh network is challenging due to unstable wireless link quality. In this context, the choice of transport protocol can play an important role in the resulting Quality-of-Service (QoS) of applications and the perceived Quality-of-Experience (QoE) of users. In this paper, we evaluate video traffic performance over the UDP and TCP transport protocols and the audio traffic over UDP. We also examine the impact of competing traffic on audio performance in a tactical mesh network deployment for the scenario of firefighting intervention. The experimental results show that in small networks, where TCP can quickly retransmit lost packets, TCP-based video streaming can greatly outperform UDP. The competing video traffic can decrease the instantaneous audio similarity score.