TCP Performance Issues in Satellite and WiFi Hybrid Networks for High-Speed Trains

Giovanni Giambene,Sastri Kota,Silvia Marchi

doi:10.4108/trans.ubienv.2012.e5

Abstract

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TCP Performance Issues in Satellite and WiFi Hybrid Networks for High-Speed Trains

Highlights

Passengers on high-speed trains expect broadband Internet services
Cellular 3G Internet access is a common solution for railway systems, but such approach is not economically-viable when hundreds of kilometers of railway network need to be covered in rural areas
We focus on FTP traffic flows (‘elephant’ TCP connections) 2

Summary

Introduction

Passengers on high-speed trains expect broadband Internet services. Cellular 3G Internet access is a common solution for railway systems, but such approach is not economically-viable when hundreds of kilometers of railway network need to be covered in rural areas. High-speed trains pose severe constraints on cellular systems in terms of Doppler effect, handover frequency, and handover execution time. Satellite communications are a good candidate for broadband Internet provision on high-speed trains. Eutelsat provides multimedia services and Internet access via satellite on board of high-speed trains in France [1], but tunnels are not covered. Still in France, an Communication services to trains via GEO satellites are affected by short-term link unavailability events (shadowing, on the order of tens to hundreds of ms) due to power line structures, trees, buildings, and small obstacles, in general. There are several approaches to deal with disruptions at different (4+ to PHY) layers, such as:

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