A Strategy for Harmonised QoS Manipulation in Heterogeneous IMS Networks

Heterogeneous networks are collections of communication platforms utilising different protocols. Heterogeneity was born by the need of operators to offer within short time many different services on the market. As a result, nowadays users communicate through collections of networks utilising different protocols, rendering service mapping from one network to another a complex issue. With the emergence of IMS and the introduction of IP and SIP protocols as a means for achieving network homogeneity, service interoperability has become even more important. With regard to this problem, the paper proposes a method for homogenising IMS networks with regard to the utilised QoS settings and charging policy. The paper explains how the method can be applied on real IMS networks for the preservation of QoS and charging records across the whole communication path and carries out a comparative analysis with performance figures obtained in real networks.