Quality Expectations of Mobile Subscribers

Mobile systems, by nature, have finite resources. Radio spectrum is limited, expensive and shared between many users and services. Mobile broadband networks must support multiple applications of voice, video and data on a single IP-based infrastructure. These converged services each have unique traffic holding and quality requirements. A positive user experience must be obtained through efficient partitioning of the available wireless network resources. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has developed a comprehensive Quality of Service (QoS) parameter to address this problem. The regular control of service quality is critical for operators to ensure user Quality of Experience (QoE), establish new business models and monetize services. It enables operators to employ fair-use resource policies and maintain network performance during peak traffic times. Wireless mobile communication is tending towards an integrated system of Internet and telecommunication technologies, where mobile users move freely anytime and everywhere. They desire to communicate with any device using the best service available. In this paper QoS management issues in mobile communication are described. The authors present an insight into subscriber behavior and related factors that affect the QoE of mobile data services.