The authors present a well-constructed series of experiments on the performance of the Internet protocol TCP when the last link in the chain is a lossy channel, such as a cellnet radio connection. This is important with the increasing number of network users who use mobile or portable systems.

Unmodified TCP shows a dramatic loss of performance as errors on the radio link rise, and the authors explore a wide range of recovery strategies. An important result is their demonstration that local action, without splitting the TCP channel, can be more effective than enhancements to the end-to-end protocol. However, to achieve this improvement, the local link protocol needs to be aware of the higher-level transport protocol in use.

The experimental work, presentation, and discussion of results are particularly good. I would also recommend this paper as an example of research in this area.