Assessment of Multimedia Services QoS/QoE over LTE Networks

The evaluation of the Quality of Experience (QoE) for data services over wireless technologies is currently a hot topic. In this paper we present service performance evaluation method that is able to estimate both the Quality of Service (QoS) and QoE for different data services over cellular networks. This method is based on specific performance indicators that are evaluated at each layer of the terminal's protocol stack following a bottom-up process from the physical layer up to the application layer. Then, specific utility functions for each data service are used to map QoS into QoE in terms of Mean Opinion Score (MOS). Three different data services (web, YouTube and voice over IP) have been evaluated over a typical LTE network scenario. Performance results show that the MOS is largely affected by the radio level performance (error rate, throughput and delay), so proper protocols' configuration critical to achieve a desired service quality.