Evaluation of Live Video Streaming Performance for Low Latency Use Cases in 5G

This paper introduces the practical evaluation setup of the low latency video streaming system for extensive performance measurements using 5G test network. The results gathered with the latest 5G new radio indoor equipment enriched with the optimized streaming solutions and accurate measurement system reveal the bottlenecks in the mobile transmission path especially in uplink channel, and help to identify the places of improvement. These places of optimization are essential in the live low latency streaming scenarios of the different industries moving to wireless technologies in vehicle-based connectivity, such as streaming vital information from an ambulance to a receiving hospital, transmitting highly prioritized traffic or road information to other drivers, or streaming through congested mobile network in need of rapid adaptation. Furthermore, the experimental knowledge gained during the extensive measurements in real 5G test environment have demonstrated the application-based processing delay to have substantial effect on the total end-to-end latency. The ongoing 5G standardization and its actualization by the operators already enables enhanced mobile broadband and ultra-reliable low-latency communication for extreme high throughput and low latency streaming, but practical field research and evaluation is needed especially for sending time critical data to uplink direction from moving vehicles in the harsh signal environment. For better understanding of the requirements in low latency video streaming and planning the actual vehicle to network scenarios over 5G, it is essential to identify the current performance and possible restrictions before shifting to more complex system development.