A Simulation Study on the Impact of Packet Loss and Latency on FTTH 35 Mbps Performance Across Different Time Periods

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the impact of Packet Loss and Latency on the performance of a 35 Mbps Fiber to the Home (FTTH) connection. Experiments were conducted in a controlled environment using iPerf3, Ping to measure and NetEm to simulate network imperfections. Data was collected during two distinct periods, daytime and nighttime, to compare the effects under different network traffic conditions. The results revealed that the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is highly susceptible to both Packet Loss and Latency, with as little as 1% Packet Loss causing a more than 80% drop in TCP Throughput and an increase of 100ms in Latency resulting in a more than 50% Throughput reduction. In contrast, the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) Throughput remained largely unaffected by these impairments, with data transfer speeds consistently close to 35 Mbps. However, Packet Loss directly impacts the quality of UDP-based real-time services, while increased Latency introduces noticeable delays that degrade the user experience. The findings indicate that both Packet Loss and Latency significantly affect user experience, albeit through different mechanisms, highlighting the critical need for improving network quality.