Performance Evaluation of TV Over Broadband Wireless Access Networks

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is an emerging wireless access networks offering high data rates and good range. These features, in addition to moderate installation and maintenance costs, make it an appealing last-mile delivery network for IPTV and video applications, especially, in rural regions. However, TV/video delivery must be designed with respect to network characteristics in different environmental conditions. This paper studies the possibility of providing TV and video over the downlink and uplink of this fixed broadband wireless access network without compromising the video quality. The downlink scenario typically corresponds to offering high and standard definition IPTV to customer set-top box, whereas the uplink scenario can be for video surveillance or camera live broadcast. Measurements were taken using professional IPTV and video streaming equipments on commercial IEEE 802.16d system. Analysis was done for different video settings and network configurations in order to characterize network performance and identify video quality in different attenuation and interference conditions. A key outcome of this analysis was the feasibility of TV/video delivery over broadband wireless access networks with good quality of experience provided that system limitations are respected.