Charles Cheevers, CTO, CPE business at ARRIS
Almost daily, we see new evidence that people are video junkies—watching, posting, and downloading more video to more devices. Yet, we commonly expect our home Wi-Fi network to carry these experiences seamlessly.
Our ARRIS Consumer Entertainment Index found that almost two-thirds of us have problems streaming or downloading video. Whether it’s a slow connection, streaming delays or a frozen or blank screen—these issues can be maddening.
Wi-Fi can barely handle MPEG-4 video bandwidth, so how are we going to support 4K video transmission over the coming years?
At this year’s SCTE, I hope to shed some light on that solution. I’m outlining my thoughts on various technologies and directions being considered to ensure that the Wi-Fi network has both the ability and quality of service to provide a reliable solution. I’ll also cover ways we can pre-empt the congestion at 5GHz and show how software-oriented solutions can help facilitate the kind of quality we need to get new pay-TV video services over Wi-Fi.
Specifically, I’ll review the following key areas surrounding this topic:
- 5GHz spectrum map and what happens when devices try and carve out some deterministic throughput rates;
- Types of services and devices competing for this airtime;
- Challenges and main goals ahead for the IEEE High Efficiency Task Force as it tries to create new wireless protocols to handle Gigabit Wi-Fi solutions in the home;
- Convergence of LTE and Wi-Fi ;
- Role of network managed Wi-Fi resources and airtime;
- Emerging ideas around SDN, and SON-based assists to improving Wi-Fi performance.
I previewed this topic on SCTE’s site, but welcome you to join me and Comcast at Thursday’s 12:45 p.m. “Wi-Fi: The Quest for Quality” discussion. Look forward to seeing you at SCTE.
