Towards understanding interruption and reordering in HSPA/HSPA+ networks

In this paper, we quantify reordering and connection interruption while downloading data to mobile phones in modern HSPA/HSPA+ mobile networks based on end-to-end measurements conducted in commercial operator networks. We show how these events are affected by phone model, operator, time of the day, user movement and signal strength. We find that phone model, time of day and user movement affect the number of connection interruptions, but not their length. Data loss during interruptions is influenced by operator and time of day. The number of reordering events is impacted by the operator and the time of day, the operator additionally affects the reordering extent. This improves the understanding of HSPA/HSPA+ networks and enables further research to improve the data transfer and methods for delay spike prevention.