On the Potential of MP-QUIC as Transport Layer Aggregator for Multiple Cellular Networks

Multipath transport protocols have the ability to simultaneously utilize the different paths and thus outperform single-path solutions in terms of achievable goodput, latency, or reliability. In this paper our goal is to examine the potential of connecting a mobile terminal to multiple mobile networks simultaneously in a dynamically changing environment. To achieve this, first we analyze a dataset obtained from an LTE drive test involving two operators. Then we study the performance of MP-QUIC, the multipath extension of QUIC, in a dynamic emulated environment generated from the collected traces. Our results show that MP-QUIC may leverage multiple available channels to provide uninterrupted connectivity, and a better overall goodput even when compared to using only the best available channel for communication. We also compare the MP-QUIC performance with MPTCP, identify challenges with the current protocol implementations to fill in the available aggregate capacity, and give insights on how the achievable throughput could be increased.