A new multimedia packet loss classification algorithm for congestion control over wired/wireless channels

In a wireless network environment, common channel errors, due to multipath fading, shadowing and attenuation, may cause bit errors and packet loss quite different from the packet loss caused by network congestion. In congestion control, the packet loss information can serve as an index of network congestion for effective rate adjustment; therefore, wireless packet loss can mistakenly lead to dramatic performance degradation. The paper proposes a packet loss classification algorithm based on detecting the trend in relative one-way trip time (ROTT) when it falls in the ambiguous zone where the packet loss classification is not straightforward. We show that the proposed algorithm greatly benefits rate-based congestion control algorithms for multimedia over IP networks.