ITU-T Rec. E. 800 defines QoS as collective effect of service
performance which determines the degree of satisfaction of a user of the service ITU-T Recommendation P.10/G.100, defines Quality of Experience (QoE) as, the overall acceptability of an application or service, as perceived subjectively by the end-user QoE includes complete end-to-end system effects (client, terminal, network and service infrastructure) Overall acceptability may be influenced by user expectations and context. Why the need for good QoS/QoE?
For the development of telecommunications products and services
acceptable to the industry and users/consumers Making interconnected networks work seamlessly well together (inter-operability) Ensure consumers get value for money Mobile has become de facto means of communications in Africa Signal Availability (QoS/QoE) on mobile networks is essential for economic and social survival in Africa Necessary for effective e-communications such as e-government, e-money transfer Ensure fulfillment of universal access Encourage fair competition-good quality (and not necessarily price) will guarantee customer retention ITU-T QoS Perspective
ITU-T Recommendation E.800 has four (4) QoS view
points namely: Customer's QoS requirements; Service Provider's offerings of QoS (or planned/targeted QoS); QoS achieved or delivered; Customer Survey ratings of received QoS. The closer the 4 view points are in a given service, the better the QoS delivered. ITU-T Four Views QoS Perspective
Customer Service Provider
Customer's QoS Service Provider's
requirements offerings of QoS
Customer Achieved or received QoS delivered QoS QoS Parameters
Are also called; metrics, indicators, measures, determinants
Are premised on indicators such as: speed, accuracy, availability, reliability, security, simplicity, satisfaction Characterize the QoS level of the service being offered to the satisfaction of the user Ensure the users of a services are getting QoS levels matching what they are paying for Used in development and implementation of SLA Can be classified as; objective-measurements of physical attributes of a circuit, system, network etc or subjective- conducting of customer opinion surveys QoS Targets
Also called; objectives, benchmarks,
thresholds, minimum standards, reference values etc A potential value (or range of values) to be achieved to ensure satisfaction with service delivery Used to maintain good QoS levels based on international, local or benchmarked standards Used to improve QoS levels following consumer complaints Telecoms Services QoS Targets Fixed Telephony: Service Supply Time Fault Report Rate Fault Repair Time Call Success Rate Call Set-up Time Response time for operator service (call centers) Response time for directory enquiry service Billing accuracy Billing Complaints Resolution time Call Connection Delay Ratio of working payphones Telecoms Services QoS Targets Mobile Telephony Service No significant difference with fixed telephony parameters: Service Supply Time Fault Report Rate Fault Repair Rate Call Center Answer Time Billing and Tariff Accuracy Completed Calls Dropped Calls Blocked Calls Speech Quality (MOS, PESQ) Telecoms Services QoS Targets
Mobile Telephony (contd)
SMS Message Transmission Success Rate Call Set-up Time Handover Success Rate Geographic Coverage Received Signal Strength (RxLv) Received Signal Quality (Rx Qual) Telecoms Services QoS Targets
Data Networks and Internet QoS parameters-cannot be
isolated from the fixed or mobile telephony parameters due to convergence of technologies. IP packets are used in both fixed and mobile services. Bandwidth Latency BER Jitter and Jitter Variations Throughput Data Transmission Success Rate Internet Session Login Success Rate QoS Measurement Method
Objective- circuits attributes, networks, signals
Subjective-through customer satisfaction surveys Subjective good- fits the QoS definition but time consuming Therefore a mix of the two methods recommended Enforcing Compliance
Regulators monitor, measure and enforce operators
obligations Obligations normally in licenses or regulations Enforcements sometimes entails consultations Regulator needs techniques to ensure compliance even after consultation Enforcing Compliance (Contd) Some of the enforcement methods are:
Publication of QoS measurement results
Reprimands Directives Imposition of Penalties Requiring operators/service providers compensate their customers Imposition of embargos to persistent violators (no Gvt Contracts) License Revocation-as a last resort Encourage Self Regulation- Enforcing Compliance (Contd) Service Level Agreements (SLA) Signed between service providers or between service providers and their customers Define service characteristics, responsibilities and priorities between parties May include statements on specific performance, billing, QoS levels etc May also include remedies for breach Regulator needs to enforce SLA where parties fail to do so International Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs)
Besides ITU-T, other international telecommunications
standardization development organizations (SDOs)exist ISO, ETSI, IETF, INTUG, TM Forum, etc They deal with the general and special telecommunications quality of service issues. International Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs)
(Contd.)
ITU-T organizes its work in study groups
subdivided into working parties . SG12 is the lead SG in the performance, QoS and QoE. One of its affiliates is SG12 RG-AFR Most of the ITU-T Recommendations dealing with QoS exist in the E, G, I, M, Q, P, X and Y series. International Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs)
(Contd.)
ITU-T gathers together
Governments, National telecommunication administrations. Recognized operating agencies. Manufacturers. Service providers. Scientific and industrial organizations Consumer protection groups International Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs)
(Contd.)
In addition, Quality of Services Development Group
(QSDG) is involved in QoS/QoE. Its main aim is to improve the quality of international telecommunication services. Its activities were transferred from SG2 to SG12 during the WTSA08 in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2008. Held its last meeting in Maputo, Mozambique List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and other
international QoS standards
No. Organization Standard Content
1 ITU-T ITU-T Rec. G.109 Definition of
categories of speech transmission quality
2 ITU-T Rec. G.1010 End-user multimedia
QoS categories
3 ITU-T Rec. G.1000 Communications
quality of service: A framework and definitions List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and other
international QoS standards (Contd.)
4 ITU-T Rec. E.800 Terms and definitions related to QoS/NP including dependability 5 ITU-T Rec. I. 350 General aspects of quality of service and network performance in digital networks including ISDN
6 ITU-T Rec. X.641 Information
Technology-QoS Framework List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and other
international QoS standards (Contd.)
7 ITU-T Rec. G.107 E- Model. A
computational model for use in transmission planning 8 ITU-T Rec. G.1000 Communications quality of service. A framework and Definition
9 ITU-T Rec. E.801 Framework for
service quality agreement List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and other
international QoS standards (Contd.)
10 ITU-T Rec. E 802 Framework and methodology for the determination and application of QoS parameters 11 ITU-T Rec. E.860 Framework of service level agreement
12 ITU-T Rec. P. Vocabulary for
10/G.100 performance and quality of service- Definition of QoE List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and other
international QoS standards (Contd.)
13 ITU-T Rec. P. 800 Methods for
subjective determination of transmission quality 14 ITU-T Rec. P. 862 Perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ). An objective method for end-to-end speech quality 15 ITU-T Rec. Y.1540 IP packet transfer and availability List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and other
international QoS standards (Contd.)
16 ITU-T Rec. Y. 1541 Network
performance objectives for IP- based services 17 ITU-T Rec. Y. 1542 Framework for achieving end-to- end IP Performance Objectives
18 ITU-T Rec. X.140 QoS parameters for
public data networks List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and other
international QoS standards (Contd.)
19 ISO EN ISO 9000:2000 Quality management systems. Fundamentals and vocabulary 20 EN ISO 9001:2000 Quality management systems. Requirements
21 EN ISO 9004:2000 Quality management
systems. Guidelines for performance improvements List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and other
international QoS standards (Contd.)
22 ETSI EG 202 086 Objectives and principles for
"traditional quality" telephone service 23 EG 201 377-1 Part 1: Introduction to objective comparison measurement methods for one-way speech quality across networks
24 EG 201 377-3 Part 3: Non-intrusive objective
measurement methods applicable to networks and links with classes of services List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and
required under ONP Voice Telephony Directive 98/10/EC
27 EG 202 009-1 Part 1: Methodology for
identification of parameters relevant to the Users List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and other international
QoS standards (Contd.)
28 EG 202 009-2 Part 2: User related
parameters on a service specific basis 29 EG 202 009-3 Part 3: Template for Service Level Agreements (SLA) 30 EG 202 057-1 User-related QoS parameter definitions and measurements Part 1: General List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and other
international QoS standards (Contd.)
31 EG 202 057-2 User-related QoS parameter
definitions and measurements Part 2: Voice telephony, Group 3 fax and modem data services 32 EG 202 057-3 User related QoS parameter definitions and measurements Part 3: QoS parameters specific to public land mobile networks (PLMN)
33 EG 202 057-4 User related QoS parameter
definitions and measurements Part 4: Internet Access List of ITU-T QoS-related Recommendations and