Improving 5G Performance in Critical Environments through MPTCP

The 5G networks revolutionize industrial connectivity, offering reliable, low-latency, and high-bandwidth communication for diverse critical environments, including mining. However, the current uplink capacity of 5G poses limitations for transmitting large data volumes, necessitating the exploration of concurrent wireless solutions. To address this, our paper proposes leveraging a Wi-Fi mesh network in conjunction with 5G and a Multipath Transmission Control Protocol (MPTCP) scheduler. To do so, we deploy a test network in a tunnel able to serve 5G as well as mesh Wi-Fi. We then evaluate how a moving vehicle equipped with a connectivity unit can take advantage of both networks even in challenging conditions by turning off part of the 5G base stations. Ultimately, we demonstrate that employing Wi-Fi and MPTCP can augment 5G in scenarios with limited uplink capacity or unreliable coverage.