Handover Evaluation for Mobile Video Streaming in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

Current market trends have enabled mobile users to rely increasingly on wireless devices to receive and stream video applications in their daily lives. These multihomed devices are capable of changing point of connection while roaming in current heterogeneous wireless networks, due to their multi-access radio interfaces. However, services handover between two wireless cells of same radio access technology (RAT), or of different RATs present various challenges. In this study, we evaluate mobile video streaming in heterogeneous wireless networks using WiFi and WiMAX. Our evaluation framework was based on an experiment through a hybrid network comprising a testbed network and an emulator. H. 264/AVC video standard with its increasing dominance was chosen for mobile video streaming. Two scenarios, namely pedestrian and train were implemented for testing based on movement speed of mobile users. Quality of service (QoS) parameters of delay, packet loss and jitter were measured and compared under different scenarios. Experiment results demonstrated a correlation between users' increased movement speed and increased delays with noticeable video quality degradation during handovers.