Performance in Multipath & High-Mobility Leveraging Terrestrial and Satellite Networks

High-mobility scenarios, such as those experienced by autonomous vehicles or users in transit, demand reliable and high-performance network communication. This thesis presents a comprehensive measurement study comparing the performance of terrestrial 5G networks (ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile) and the Starlink satellite network in high-mobility scenarios. The study evaluates key performance metrics, including throughput and latency, across six globally distributed server locations: Virginia, California, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo, and Sydney. Measurements were conducted using a carefully designed testbed while driving a total of 860 km across urban, suburban, and rural terrains. The results reveal that 5G networks, particularly Verizon, excel in urban regions with higher peak throughput and lower latency, while Starlink demonstrates consistent performance in rural and remote areas. The impact of vehicle speed on network performance was also analyzed, highlighting Starlink’s resilience to high speeds compared to terrestrial networks. Heatmaps and statistical analyses underscore the complementary strengths of these networks, suggesting their integration via multipath protocols (e.g., MPTCP, MPQUIC) could enhance reliability and performance in critical applications such as autonomous vehicles, video conferencing, and AR/VR. This work provides valuable insights into the behavior of 5G and satellite networks in real-world high-mobility scenarios and lays a foundation for designing robust and efficient communication systems.