Are IEEE 802.11 Wireless Networks Appropriate for Video Streaming in the Presence of Interference? An Experimental Answer

The performance of video streaming applications over wireless local area network (WLANs), in presence of interference, are here dealt with. In particular, the IEEE 802.11g standard is considered and Bluetooth and WLAN competitive data traffic are analyzed as interferer. The analysis is conducted experimentally following a cross-layer approach and through the use of properly developed testbed within a semi-anechoic chamber. The goal is to investigate the performance of video streaming applications over WLAN in the presence of both network/transport and physical layer interference, and to deduce from the experiments valuable hints for improving the setup of a WLAN.