A spectrum exists between microwave and infrared waves that promises to redefine “high-speed” wireless communication. It is called the millimeter wave spectrum (mmWave), which has a range of 30 to 300 Ghz, and it will kick 5th generation networks into overdrive.
However, these frequencies are characterized by highly dynamic channel conditions, which lead to wide fluctuations in the received signal quality.
The authors of “TCP and MP-TCP in 5G mmWave Networks,” (login may be required for full text) which appears in the September/October 2017 issue of IEEE Internet Computing, explain how the end-to-end user experience in mobile mmWave networks could be affected by poor interaction between the most widely used transport protocol, TCP, and mmWave links.
It also provides insights on the throughput-latency tradeoff when Multipath TCP is used judiciously across various links, such as Long-Term Evolution and mmWave.
About Lori Cameron
Lori Cameron is a Senior Writer for the IEEE Computer Society and currently writes regular features for Computer magazine, Computing Edge, and the Computing Now and Magazine Roundup websites. Contact her at l.cameron@computer.org. Follow her on LinkedIn.
