Can network coding bridge the digital divide in the Pacific?

TL;DR

This paper investigates the potential of network-coded TCP to improve Internet performance for remote Pacific Island communities by tunneling over satellite links, addressing high latency and packet loss issues.

Contribution

It presents a feasibility study demonstrating how TCP/NC can enhance goodput in satellite communications for isolated island networks.

Findings

TCP/NC can significantly increase goodput over satellite links.

Feasibility of tunneling TCP/UDP with network coding in satellite environments.

Potential to bridge the digital divide for remote Pacific communities.

Abstract

Conventional TCP performance is significantly impaired under long latency and/or constrained bandwidth. While small Pacific Island states on satellite links experience this in the extreme, small populations and remoteness often rule out submarine fibre connections and their communities struggle to reap the benefits of the Internet. Network-coded TCP (TCP/NC) can increase goodput under high latency and packet loss, but has not been used to tunnel conventional TCP and UDP across satellite links before. We report on a feasibility study aimed at determining expected goodput gain across such TCP/NC tunnels into island targets on geostationary and medium earth orbit satellite links.