WISE: A Variance-Adaptive, Segment-Aware Throughput Mixer for Client-Side HTTP Adaptive Streaming

Accurate throughput estimation and control are critical for HAS over volatile mobile links. We present WISE, a client-side ABR that adapts to measured variability. WISE introduces the Weighted Harmonic-Exponential Mean (WHEM), which blends an EWMA with a weighted harmonic mean using a coefficient of variation gate: It leans toward a fast EWMA when links are calm and toward conservative WHM as burstiness grows. A variance-scaled buffer cushion further sizes the guard band to real-time dispersion and segment size, while a closedform QoE score balances bitrate, smoothness, and stall risk. All computations are constant-time and do not require offline training. On 5G traces, WISE improves mean quality by up to 46.1% and reduces switching magnitude by up to 53.3% versus state-of-the-art baselines, with competitive stall rates, yielding robust gains under both stable and highly volatile conditions.