A Modern Quality of Service Evaluation Approach of VOLTE Calls Focused on Packet Delays

摘要

Long-Term Evolution (LTE) coverage in mobile networks is becoming more widespread day by day. As a consequence of this situation, Voice over LTE (VOLTE) calls in LTE networks have increasingly become more important compared to traditional Circuit Switch (CS) voice calls. Also, smartphone usage grew rapidly in the last few years and VOLTE support is a vital feature of smartphones. Additionally, Mobile Network Operators (MNO) tend to promote VOLTE service since VOLTE technology has lower operational costs than traditional voice service in the long run and promises improved sound quality. Although there are several straightforward Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as call drop rate, jitter, packet delay, packet loss rate, etc. in order to measure VOLTE quality of service, evaluation of the measured values and revealing real perceived quality of service by subscribers is complex. Experienced VOLTE quality of service value depends on many factors. Determining factors and their significance is central to measuring and improving perceived VOLTE quality of service. This paper deals with the evaluation problem and proposes a new approach to evaluate perceived VOLTE quality of service experienced by subscribers.