Method for determining effective quality of service (QoS) in mobile communications

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining effective quality of service (QoS) in mobile communications. The invention discloses a method for determining an effective quality of service, QoS, in mobile communications, the method comprising the steps of receiving (401) a first QoS indication from a first mobile network operator, MNO, (310a-310c), receiving (402) a second QoS indication from a second MNO, converting (403) the first QoS and the second QoS into a unified format of the QoS, and determining (404) a second QoS indication from the second MNO. Wherein the first QoS and the second QoS are defined according to different QoS models, and wherein the first QoS and the second QoS relate to the same terminal (301), characterized in that it further comprises the step of selecting the first MNO (310a to 310c) or the second MNO (310a to 310c) to provide a service according to a converted first QoS and a converted second QoS.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for determining an effective quality of service QoS in mobile communications. In particular, the method is applicable when there are more than one mobile network operator MNO providing mobile communication services to a receiver (or otherwise to a terminal or more generally to a device). Background Art

[0002] The prior art defines an autonomous vehicle, also known as an AV, autonomous vehicle, self-driving car, driverless car, robo-car or robotic car, as a vehicle that can sense its environment and move safely with little or no human input.

[0003] Furthermore, automotive applications and mobile communications are becoming more and more entangled, in particular due to the growing interest in autonomous driving, which requires larger amounts of data compared to conventional driving. These amounts of data are partly provided by the vehicle itself (i.e., by its sensors) and partly provided via the air / radio interface. Communication is performed via the air interface (e.g., vehicle-to-vehicle V2V communication or vehicle-to-infrastructure V2I communication or vehicle-to-everything V2X communication), the latter including communication with roadside units RSU.

[0004] In such state-of-the-art systems, efficient mobile communication is essential and, depending on the criticality of a particular operation, must also meet certain requirements related to Quality of Service (QoS).

[0005] In this context, for example, 3GPP 5G radio communication systems can support the demanding QoS requirements of many advanced V2X use cases and their corresponding applications. However, efficient driving, especially of autonomous vehicles, may be affected by sudden changes in the provided QoS. To this end, for example, 3GPP 5G communication systems have recently been able to predict QoS changes and notify vehicles of these predicted changes early. This approach enables vehicles to avoid or mitigate the impact of sudden QoS changes at the application level.

[0006] Predicted QoS (pQoS) can be used, for example, to plan the execution of a route or, at a lower level, to plan a specific maneuver of the AV. For example, if the pQoS is not met for long enough, the application will not perform a given action. Typically, the application adapts to the pQoS time series so that an improved or even optimal target distance plan can be achieved to fully exploit the predicted QoS characteristics.

[0007] It is foreseen that AV will require support from multiple MNOs. To address the topic of multi-MNO architecture, its APIs and their challenges, the CAMARA project has been launched, namely “CAMARA: Telecom Global API Alliance”, which aims to enable seamless access to telecom network capabilities. CAMARA works closely with the GSMA Operator Platform Group to align API requirements and publish API definitions and APIs.

[0008] Different MNOs have different networks and also use different pQoS models and learning methods to predict the future QoS of user devices (e.g., AVs). As a result, the pQoS profile provided to a user or a user's receiver / terminal may vary between different MNOs, which therefore makes cross-MNO prediction a challenge.

[0009] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to overcome or reduce at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a method for determining an effective quality of service QoS in mobile communications, particularly when there are more than one mobile network operator MNO providing mobile communication services to a receiver / terminal.

[0010] A publication on mapping QoS parameters corresponding to multiple RATs is US 2014 / 0153547A1. Summary of the invention

[0011] A first aspect of the present invention relates to a method for determining an effective quality of service QoS in mobile communications, the method comprising the following steps: receiving a first QoS indication from a first mobile network operator MNO, receiving a second QoS indication from a second MNO, converting the first QoS and the second QoS into a unified format of the QoS, wherein the first QoS and the second QoS are defined according to different QoS models, wherein the first QoS and the second QoS involve the same receiver / terminal.

[0012] In this context, a QoS model can be a method for determining QoS and / or a method for reporting QoS. A QoS model can include QoS categories (e.g., types of data traffic flows requiring congestion management), attributes (e.g., reliability, delay, jitter, and bandwidth), and metrics (e.g., throughput, packet loss, signal-to-noise ratio), which also contain the relationships between these QoS entities and usually follow a specific structure, such as a network topology and / or a specific network protocol. Thus, a given QoS model applies its specific QoS metrics and / or its specific method to classify data traffic.

[0013] The conversion aspect of the method enables the cross-MNO pQoS API to contain functions that provide effective pQoS (unified pQoS / common pQoS), which means a unified format of pQoS for all MNOs, such as function: effective-pQoS(pQoS_mno1, pQoS_mno2, ... pQoS_mnox). As a result, according to the unified format of QoS, a first converted QoS is obtained from a first QoS and a second converted QoS is obtained from a second QoS. Therefore, when a receiver / terminal and / or application uses multiple MNOs, this advantageously enables the receiver / terminal and / or application to improve its data management.

[0014] Preferably, the QoS is predictive QoS, i.e. pQoS. In such a case, pQoS is a prediction, and the corresponding pQoS models apply different approaches to achieve the predicted QoS. Such approaches may include artificial intelligence learning models to improve the prediction of pQoS. Therefore, predicting the QoS requirements of the receiver / terminal in a given environment before executing the corresponding service can potentially improve the provision of the most appropriate service. Naturally, pQoS is also based on input parameters (such as environmental parameters of the receiver / terminal), which can also be treated differently by the pQoS model. Therefore, the diversity of pQoS models is significant.

[0015] The method may be considered as a cross-MNO pQoS API, which may be implemented in different entities. For example, cross-MNO pQoS may be implemented only on the transmitter side or only on the receiver side (also referred to as user and backend). In another example, cross-MNO pQoS may be implemented on the MNO side, which may be understood as being implemented by one or more of the following: base station, radio access network, core network, Internet global network. The examples indicated above may also be combined in a suitable system.

[0016] A common understanding of the different pQoS indications available from different MNOs advantageously allows efficient configuration of receiver / terminal applications, often reducing the number of adaptations of application operation due to mismatches between pQoS of different MNOs and / or mismatches between different pQoS and actual QoS.

[0017] Preferably, according to any of the aforementioned aspects, the unified format of QoS is terminal-dependent.

[0018] For example, the cross-MNO pQoS determination module can take into account the receiver / terminal type when determining the unified pQoS. The receiver / terminal type can relate to the hardware and / or software capabilities (e.g., compliance, certification) of the receiver / terminal. By having a common pQoS associated with the terminal as converted by the pQoS management module, it can remain customized while still providing the advantages of having a cross-MNO pQoS indication.

[0019] Preferably, according to any of the aforementioned aspects, the unified format of QoS is usage scenario-dependent. For example, the cross-MNO pQoS determination module can take into account the usage scenario when determining the unified pQoS. The usage scenario type can involve the moving path of the receiver / terminal and / or time and / or environmental considerations, such as weather, speed, congestion. By having a common pQoS that is usage scenario-dependent as converted by the pQoS management module, it can remain customized while still providing the advantage of having a cross-MNO pQoS indication.

[0020] Preferably, according to any of the preceding aspects, the switching process is learned by receiving feedback from a receiver / terminal, the feedback comprising an indication of the difference between the pQoS and the actual QoS of each of the first MNO and the second MNO.

[0021] In a static environment, the conversion process may be predefined. However, it may also adapt to the current state of the receiver / terminal (application) and / or the system. The adaptation may be based on feedback of the difference between pQoS and the QoS actually experienced by a given receiver / terminal / application. For example, a given SNR range reported as a first QoS from a first MNO is initially converted to throughput range 4. However, after the application provides feedback that the throughput actually experienced does not match throughput range 4, the conversion module may adapt the conversion mapping such that the given SNR range reported as a first QoS from the first MNO is thereafter converted to throughput range 3. Thus, as an advantage, the conversion process may be improved.

[0022] Preferably, the conversion process is learned by analyzing the correlation between the characteristics of the first pQoS and the characteristics of the second pQoS.

[0023] The process of associating different methods of expressing pQoS can be based on identifying the relationship (link) between the received QoS metric and the converted QoS metric to understand such a relationship for subsequent mapping / conversion. For example: the first MNO provides an SNR range according to its pQoS profile, and the second MNO provides throughput according to its pQoS profile. The user's application may request that throughput-based pQoS be provided to it. In such a case, after determining how the different SNR ranges of the first MNO map to different throughputs, the SNR can be converted to throughput. In addition, even if the second MSO provides throughput as its pQoS profile, the throughput range provided by the first MSO may be different from the throughput range used and requested by the user application.

[0024] By observing how different applications react to the conversion being performed, the relationship between such different metrics can be discovered. Thus, as an advantage, the conversion process can be improved.

[0025] Preferably, according to any of the aforementioned aspects, the conversion process is learned by performing one or more test sequences using the first MNO and the second MNO and analyzing the correlation between the characteristics of the first pQoS and the characteristics of the second pQoS in view of the results of the test sequences.

[0026] Preferably, such tests sequence the same test requests submitted to the same receiver / terminal / application via different MNOs. Response parameters of such one or more test sequences may be measured and associated with a pQoS (preferably a common pQoS). For example, after the test sequence, the pQoS management module realizes that according to metric 1, pQoS / QoS level 3 is achieved with MNO1, and MNO 1 reports pQoS metric 2 level 4. From this, the pQoS management module may infer that MNO 1, pQoS metric 2, level 4 may be mapped to metric 1, common pQoS / QoS level 3 (which may be understood by observing the responses to one or more test sequences). Such a test sequence, when performed for all available MNOs, advantageously allows defining a mapping correspondence, such as a mapping table, between different metrics of different MNOs and different metrics of common pQoS.

[0027] Preferably, the association is based on determining a first measured service value for a characteristic of the first pQoS and a second measured service value for a characteristic of the second pQoS, and associating the characteristic of the first pQoS with the characteristic of the second pQoS according to a ratio between the first measured service value and the second measured service value, wherein the first measured service value and the second measured service value are of the same type.

[0028] In this example, different metrics of pQoS of different MSOs can be related to each other by linking them to a separate metric of a given type. For example, when a metric reported by an MNO is not yet known to the pQoS management module or is not supported by a common pQoS format, it can be mapped to a metric in a common pQoS format. When two different pQoS metrics from two different MNOs exist, the ratio between the two metrics can be identified and stored in the pQoS management module. Thus, different metrics of pQoS of different MSOs can be linked to each other by a ratio or a mathematical equation (e.g., a linear correlation equation).

[0029] Preferably, according to any of the aforementioned aspects, the QoS is qualitative. An example of a qualitative QoS is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and another example is poor, fair, good, very good. Such an indication may generally be meaningful in context. Such an approach to pQoS has the advantage that it includes considerations of a high-level indication of QoS.

[0030] Preferably, according to any of the aforementioned aspects, the QoS is quantitative. An example of a quantitative QoS is a specific value of an attribute, such as latency in ms, throughput UL / DL in MB / s, SNR. Such an approach to pQoS has the following advantages: consideration of a low-level indication of QoS is included.

[0031] Preferably, according to any of the preceding aspects, the converted first pQoS and the converted second pQoS are provided to a receiver / terminal.

[0032] This serves the purpose of receiver / terminal feedback of the received pQoS and / or notification of the pQoS to the receiver / terminal. Typically, the receiver / application will request pQoS from the MNO according to the expected format, which is preferably the public pQoS format of the present disclosure. In response, each MNO that can serve the receiver / application will provide its own pQoS, which is preferably converted into a public pQoS so as to advantageously allow easy comparison between the pQoS of different MNOs. As a result of such comparison, the receiver / application can decide to select a serving MNO or switch the current MNO.

[0033] Preferably, according to any of the aforementioned aspects, the converted first pQoS and the converted second pQoS are provided to a backend.

[0034] The backend is the management module of the autonomous vehicle and is therefore interested in being informed of the service conditions. This information provides the advantage that it is useful, for example, for planning an autonomous driving session by a control center.

[0035] Preferably, according to any of the preceding aspects, the first MNO and the second MNO operate heterogeneous networks.

[0036] In one example, a heterogeneous network includes interconnected nodes and different types of links, which may operate according to different principles and / or different protocols. As another example, IoT devices are constrained devices that are heterogeneous in their communication protocols and / or device data formats and / or technologies.

[0037] Preferably, according to any of the preceding aspects, the QoS model depends on one or more indications of a QoS determination method and / or a QoS report.

[0038] Due to the fact that the QoS determination methods differ, in particular in the case of pQoS, the QoS model considers different input aspects of the selection in order to output a QoS (pQoS). The selection of such inputs is implementation-dependent. Furthermore, since a QoS / pQoS model is typically AI-based, the state of such a QoS / pQoS model depends on its operational history, i.e., even if the starting models of two MNOs are the same, after a learning process the current models of these MNOs may be different. One or more indications of the QoS / pQoS report refer to the reported QoS / pQoS metrics, such as the qualitative and / or quantitative metrics mentioned above. This aspect has the advantage of distinguishing QoS models according to their internal operation and according to the type of output report indicating QoS metrics.

[0039] According to the claimed embodiment, the method further comprises the step of selecting the first MNO or the second MNO to provide service according to the converted first pQoS and the converted second pQoS, or switching between the first MNO or the second MNO according to the converted first pQoS and the converted second pQoS.

[0040] When the application of the user's terminal requesting information about QoS / pQoS is informed accordingly, it can adapt its operation or maintain the current operation based on the easily comparable QoS / pQoS information, which advantageously improves the operation of the application considering QoS / pQoS. Since the MNO selection / switching is based on a more informed process, this may result in a reduction in application adaptation, which is generally beneficial to the quality of experience perceived by the end user.

[0041] A second aspect of the present invention is a device comprising a processor, wherein the processor is adapted to execute all steps of the method of the first aspect of the present disclosure according to any of the above variations of the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0042] The third aspect of the present invention is a computer program comprising instructions. When the program is executed by a computer, the instructions cause the computer to perform all the steps of the method of the first aspect of the present disclosure according to any of the above variations of the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0043] A fourth aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform all steps of the method of the first aspect of the present disclosure according to any of the above variations of the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0044] Such computer programs are typically executed by utilizing computing resources in a computing device (e.g., a processor or controller). Applications are stored on non-transitory media. An example of a non-transitory medium is a non-volatile memory, such as a flash memory, while an example of a volatile memory is a RAM. Computer instructions are typically executed by a processor. These memories are exemplary recording media for storing computer programs including computer executable instructions that perform all steps of a computer-implemented method according to the technical concepts presented herein.

[0045] The different embodiments of the invention described herein may be advantageously combined, unless the context indicates otherwise. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] Reference will now be made to the following drawings for a more detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0047] Figure 1 An example of achieving the highest level of public pQoS is shown;

[0048] Figure 2 shows an example of a mapping from two input metrics to an output metric;

[0049] Figure 3 An exemplary diagram showing a system according to the present disclosure; and

[0050] Figure 4 A block diagram of a method according to the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] Some portions of the detailed description that follows are presented in terms of data processing procedures, steps, or other symbolic representations of operations on data bits that can be performed on a computer memory. Accordingly, the computer performs such logical steps, which in turn require physical manipulations of physical quantities.

[0052] Typically, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computer system. For general purposes, these signals are referred to as bits, packets, messages, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

[0053] Furthermore, all of these and similar terms are associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Terms such as "process" or "create" or "transfer" or "execute" or "determine" or "detect" or "obtain" or "select" or "compute" or "generate" refer to the actions and processes of a computer system that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the memories or registers or other such information storage devices.

[0054] As used herein, the term "example" means serving as a non-limiting example, instance, or illustration. As used herein, the term "for example" and "eg" introduce a list of one or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations.

[0055] As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. In addition, when describing embodiments of the present invention, the use of "may" refers to "one or more embodiments of the present invention." Furthermore, in the following description of embodiments of the present invention, terms in the singular may include plural forms unless the presented context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0056] It will be understood that, although the terms "first" and "second" are used to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first element can be named as the second element, and similarly, the second element can be named as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and for example, the expression of "at least one of ..." modifies the entire element list when it is before the element list.

[0057] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. The effects and features of the exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Wherein, similar reference numerals represent similar elements, and redundant descriptions are omitted. However, the present invention can be embodied in various different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments shown herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided only as examples to fully convey the aspects and features of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0058] Figure 1 An example of the highest level to achieve public pQoS is shown. Although this example specifically refers to pQoS, it is also applicable to general QoS.

[0059] In this example, the first pQoS model 101 and the second pQoS model provide input to the Cross-MNO API (105), typically a pQoS conversion module. It is to be understood that there may be more than two pQoS models providing corresponding inputs.

[0060] The cross-MNO API 105 receives inputs 103, 104 from each of the pQoS models 101, 102. The input 103 of the first pQoS model 101 includes three metric parameters of the first pQoS, namely, metric 1, metric 2, and metric 3 (103a to 103c). In addition, the input 104 of the second pQoS model 102 includes two metric parameters of the second pQoS, namely, metric 4 and metric 5 (104a, 104b).

[0061] After analyzing the inputs 103, 104 received from each of the pQoS models 101, 102, the cross-MNOAPI 105 may determine that the combination of metric 1 and metric 2 of the pQoS input 103 may be mapped to metric 6 of the pQoS common format. Based on a predetermined conversion scheme 105, the values ​​of metric 1 and metric 2 may be mapped to a value 106 of metric 6 of the first pQoS input 103. In this case, it may be the case that the value of metric 2 helps to map the value of metric 1 to metric 4. Correspondingly, the value of metric 4 may be mapped to the value of metric 6 of the second pQoS input 104.

[0062] In a similar manner, the cross-MNO API 105 may determine that the value of Metric 3 may be mapped to the value 107 of Metric 7 of the first pQoS input 103. Correspondingly, for the second pQoS input 104, the value of Metric 5 may be mapped to the value of Metric 7.

[0063] The pQoS common report 108 includes metrics 6 and 7 for both pQoS output 1 and pQoS output 2, respectively, of the corresponding MNO.

[0064] Depending on the system setup, the cross-MNO API 105 may be applicable on a case-by-case basis, i.e. mapping the input pQoS values ​​locally to a common pQoS format (which may also be considered as common pQoS per application), whereas the cross-MNO API 105 may be applicable globally, i.e. always providing the same common pQoS format for all cases of a given communication system.

[0065] In other scenarios, the unified (common) format of pQoS is receiver-dependent, or the unified format of pQoS is usage scenario-dependent.

[0066] Figure 2An example of a mapping from two input metrics to an output metric is shown. Metric 1 and Metric 2 are exemplary only and refer to SNR and BER. For example, a given range of Metric 1 (i.e., SNR range 1) can be converted to Throughput range 1 based on a given range of Metric 2 (i.e., BER range 1).

[0067] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a communication system according to the present disclosure is shown.

[0068] There are three main components of the system, namely the user (which is the user's terminal / receiver 301 ), one or more servers / systems of different MNOs 310a to 310c , and the backend 320 .

[0069] The user's terminal 301 executes one or more applications 303a to 303c (eg a remote control driving application) under the supervision of a data flow management unit 304 which coordinates any data transmission for the applications 303a to 303c with the communication unit 302 of the user's terminal.

[0070] A pQoS management module 305 (particularly a cross-MNO pQoS API) may also optionally be present in the user's terminal 301. As described above, this module converts the QoS indications of different MNOs into a common pQoS format. This module 305 typically receives input from the QoS determination client of each MNO 306a to 306c. Modules 306a to 306c may also optionally be present in the user's terminal.

[0071] The user's terminal 301 may also be configured to provide feedback 307 about QoS to other devices 310, 320, particularly when the user's terminal is not responsible for determining the inter-MNO QoS / pQoS. Such feedback may indicate the actual QoS relative to the pQoS, or may directly indicate the difference between the actual QoS relative to the pQoS.

[0072] The second component of the system is one or more servers / systems of different MNOs 310a to 310c. The user terminal 301 exchanges data with one or more servers / systems of different MNOs 310a to 310c. Each MNO typically operates a radio communication network 311a to 311c and a core network 312a to 312c. In some instances, the MNO may communicate with a backend 320 through a public or private network 314, which is responsible for managing the user device 301 using the available MNO at a given time instance. The backend 320 may be an autonomous driving control center.

[0073] Each MNO may also include a cross-MNO pQoS module / API 313. Cross-MNO pQoS may be implemented on the MNO side, which may be understood as being implemented by one or more of the following: base station, radio access network, core network, Internet global network. The examples indicated above may also be combined in one system.

[0074] Specifically, the core network may also include different devices, which may include a cross-MNO pQoS module / API. Such devices / functions of the core network may be one or more of the following: mobility management entity MME; service gateway SGW; packet data network gateway PDN GW; access and mobility management function AMF; session management function SMF; policy control function PCF; network exposure function NEF or similar.

[0075] Similar to the user's terminal 301, the MNO 310a may also be configured to provide feedback 307 about QoS to other devices 301, 320, particularly when the MNO 310a is not responsible for determining the inter-MNO QoS / pQoS. Such feedback may indicate the actual QoS relative to the pQoS, or may directly indicate the difference between the actual QoS relative to the pQoS.

[0076] The last component of the system is the backend 320. Typically, the backend 320 comprises the counterparts of the components present in the user's terminal 301.

[0077] The backend 320 executes one or more applications 322a to 322c (eg, a remote control driving application) under the supervision of a data flow management unit 323 , which coordinates data transfer for the applications 322a to 322c with a communication unit 321 of the backend 320 .

[0078] A pQoS management module 324 (particularly a cross-MNO pQoS API) may also optionally be present in the backend 320. As described above, this module converts the QoS indications of different MNOs into a common pQoS format. This module 324 typically receives input from the QoS determination client of each MNO 325a to 325c. Modules 325a to 325c may also optionally be present in the user's terminal.

[0079] Similar to the user's terminal 301, the backend 320 may also be configured to provide feedback 325 about QoS to other devices 301, 310a-c, particularly when the backend 320 is not responsible for determining the cross-MNO QoS / pQoS. Such feedback may indicate the actual QoS relative to the pQoS, or may directly indicate the difference between the actual experienced QoS relative to the pQoS.

[0080] Figure 4 A block diagram of a method according to the present disclosure is shown. In step 401, the pQoS management module receives a first QoS indication from a first mobile network operator MNO, and in step 402, the pQoS management module receives a second QoS indication from a second MNO.

[0081] The first QoS and the second QoS are defined according to different QoS models, and the first QoS and the second QoS relate to the same receiver / terminal.

[0082] Then, at step 403, the pQoS management module performs an action of converting the first QoS and the second QoS into a unified format of output QoS.

[0083] For example, the output is a converted first QoS and a converted second QoS, both according to a unified format of output QoS.

[0084] Optionally, at step 404, the converted first QoS and the converted second QoS are provided to a receiver / terminal and / or a backend.

[0085] Reference Symbols

[0086] 101pQoS Model 1

[0087] 102pQoS Model 1

[0088] 103pQoS output 1

[0089] 103a pQoS output 1 / metric 1

[0090] 103b pQoS output 1 / metric 2

[0091] 103b pQoS output 1 / metric 3

[0092] 104pQoS output 2

[0093] 104a pQoS output 2 / metric 4

[0094] 104b pQoS output 2 / metric 5

[0095] 105pQoS Conversion / Mapping

[0096] 106pQoS Public Reports / Metrics 6

[0097] 107pQoS Public Reports / Metrics 7

[0098] 108pQoS Public Report

[0099] 301 User's Terminal

[0100] 302 Communication circuit / unit 303a Application 1

[0101] 303b Application 2

[0102] 303c Application X 304 Data Flow Management Unit 305pQoS Management Module (Cross-MNO pQoS API) 306a pQoS Client MNO 1

[0103] 306b pQoS Client MNO 2

[0104] 306c pQoS Client MNO X

[0105] 307 Feedback

[0106] 310a Mobile Network Operator MNO 1

[0107] 310b Mobile Network Operator MNO 2

[0108] 310c Mobile Network Operator MNO x

[0109] 311a Radio Access Network MNO 1

[0110] 311b Radio Access Network MNO 2

[0111] 311c Radio Access Network MNO X

[0112] 312a Core Network MNO 1

[0113] 312b Core Network MNO 2

[0114] 312c Core Network MNO X

[0115] 313pQoS management module (cross-MNO pQoS API) 314 Public / Private Network

[0116] 320 Backend

[0117] 321 Communication Circuit 322a Application 1

[0118] 322b Application 2

[0119] 322c Application X 323 Data Stream Management Unit

[0120] 324pQoS Management Module (Cross-MNO pQoS API)

[0121] 325a pQoS Client MNO 1

[0122] 325b pQoS Client MNO 2

[0123] 325c pQoS Client MNO X 401 Receive a first QoS indication from a first MNO

[0124] 402 Receive a first QoS indication from a second MNO 403 Convert the first QoS and the second QoS into a unified format of output QoS 404 Provide the converted first QoS and the converted second QoS to the receiver and / or the backend

Claims

1. A method for determining effective quality of service (QoS) in mobile communications, the method comprising the following steps: receiving (401) a first QoS indication from a first mobile network operator MNO (310a to 310c), receiving (402) a second QoS indication from a second MNO (310a to 310c), converting (403) the first QoS and the second QoS into a unified format of the QoS, The first QoS and the second QoS are defined according to different QoS models, Wherein the first QoS and the second QoS relate to the same terminal (301), the method is characterized in that it further comprises the following steps: The first MNO (310a to 310c) or the second MNO (310a to 310c) is selected to provide a service according to the converted first QoS and the converted second QoS.

2. The method according to claim 1, in, The QoS is predictive QoS, namely pQoS.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, The unified format of the QoS is terminal-dependent.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, The unified format of the QoS is usage scenario dependent.

5. The method according to claim 2, in, The switching process is learned by receiving feedback from the terminal, the feedback including an indication of a difference between a pQoS and an actual QoS of each of the first MNO (310a to 310c) and the second MNO (310a to 310c).

6. The method according to claim 2, in, The conversion process is learned by analyzing the correlation between the characteristics of the first QoS and the characteristics of the second QoS, both of which are pQoS.

7. The method according to claim 2, in, The conversion process is learned by performing one or more test sequences using the first MNO (310a to 310c) and the second MNO (310a to 310c) and analyzing the correlation between the characteristics of the first pQoS and the characteristics of the second pQoS.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, in, The association is based on determining a first measured service value for the characteristic of the first pQoS and a second measured service value for the characteristic of the second pQoS, and associating the characteristic of the first pQoS with the characteristic of the second pQoS according to a ratio between the first measured service value and the second measured service value, The first measurement service value and the second measurement service value are of the same type.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in, The QoS is qualitative.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in, The QoS is quantitative.

11. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 10, in, The converted first pQoS and the converted second pQoS are provided to the terminal (301).

12. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 10, in, The converted first pQoS and the converted second pQoS are provided to the backend (320).

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, in, The first MNO (310a to 310c) and the second MNO (310a to 310c) operate heterogeneous networks.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, in, The QoS model depends on one or more indications of a QoS determination method and / or a QoS report.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising the step of switching between the first MNO (310a to 310c) or the second MNO (310a to 310c) according to the converted first pQoS and the converted second pQoS.

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