VILNIUS TECH Library invites you to follow the published new dissertations. The dissertation „Quality of experience evaluation and enhancement of video streaming services in cellular networks“ prepared at VILNIUS TECH by Darius Chmieliauskas. The dissertation was prepared in 2020–2026. Scientific consultant – Prof. Dr Šarūnas Paulikas.
The dissertation was defended at the public meeting of the Dissertation Defence Council of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the Aula Doctoralis Meeting Hall of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University at 10:00 a. m. on 2 June 2026.
This doctoral dissertation investigates the evaluation and enhancement of Quality of Experience (QoE) in 4G and 5G cellular networks. This research belongs to the field of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, specifically communications engineering, signal processing, and network systems management. It addresses the key challenges faced by mobile network operators (MNOs) in managing the increasing demand for multimedia streaming services. The dissertation consists of an introduction, four chapters, and the general conclusions. The First Chapter introduces the definition of QoE in cellular networks and reviews data sources for QoE evaluation. It surveys subjective, objective, and parametric QoE evaluation methods, together with transport-layer indicators and Radio Access Network (RAN) metrics. Building on these insights, the chapter identifies the lack of an operator-side framework that fuses multi-layer Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to model, predict, and optimize QoE, with particular emphasis on practical evaluation for uplink real-time services. The Second Chapter focuses on encrypted traffic classification. The chapter proposes a novel approach that analyzes bitstream shapes using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), thereby avoiding the complexities of traditional deep packet inspection. The Third Chapter proposes a comprehensive QoE evaluation methodology that integrates multiple MNO data sources, including network-level KPIs, user flows, and application metrics. It applies this pipeline to real-world video streaming scenarios, analyzing key factors such as bandwidth, Radio Frequency (RF) conditions, handovers, and congestion. The performance of streaming protocols such as Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) and Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) is evaluated under diverse conditions, revealing correlations between RF measurements, network KPIs, and objective QoE. The Fourth Chapter introduces methods to enhance QoE in cellular networks through three main approaches: traffic forecasting, antenna parameter selection, and configuration tuning. This research presents a practical, data-driven framework for MNOs to proactively manage and enhance QoE, a significant contribution to both academic and industrial fields of cellular network management. The main results of the dissertation were published in eight scientific publications. Three were published in peer-reviewed journals, including two indexed in Clarivate Analytics Web of Science and with an impact factor. Additionally, the research results were presented at five scientific conferences with indexed proceedings.
Doctoral dissertation readers can search via VILNIUS TECH Virtual Library.
