Traffic Shaping and YouTube Performance Interaction in GEO Satellite Networks

Geosynchronous satellite (GEO) networks are a crucial option for users beyond terrestrial connectivity. However, unlike terrestrial networks, GEO networks exhibit high latency and deploy TCP proxies and traffic shapers. The deployment of proxies mitigates the impact of high network latency, while traffic shapers help realize customer-controlled data-saver options that optimize data usage. It is unclear how the interplay between GEO networks' high latency, TCP proxies, and traffic-shaping policies affects the quality of experience (QoE) for commonly used video applications. In our study, we examine this relationship through a series of video streaming experiments at a shaped rate of 900kbps. Our preliminary analysis reveals that 28% of TCP sessions (with TCP proxies) and 18% of gQUIC sessions (without TCP proxies) experience rebuffering events, while the median average resolution is only 380p for TCP and 299p for gQUIC. Additionally, we identify two key factors contributing to sub-optimal performance: (i) unlike TCP, gQUIC only utilizes 63% of network capacity; and (ii) YouTube's chunk request pipelining is imperfect. To avoid potential degradation in video quality, the satellite provider subsequently discontinued providing data saver options that shape video traffic to US residential customers.