Network Experience Testing for Service-Specific Quality Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network testing methods often require specific applications or hardware, provide irrelevant results, and fail to accurately reflect the user experience, especially in terms of latency and link imbalance, leading to suboptimal application performance.
Innovation Solution
A network testing system that conducts comprehensive tests without local hardware or software, providing a qualitative assessment of network capabilities for various services, including download and upload speeds, latency, and resource contention, and generates intuitive user experience indicators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional network testing methods are used, then network parameters can be measured, but the test results are completely irrelevant to the actual user experience
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of measuring network parameters in isolation and hoping they reflect user experience, the patent inverts the approach by directly measuring user experience metrics (application performance, perceived quality) and using those as the primary test results. This ensures the measurements are inherently relevant to user experience rather than attempting to derive relevance from traditional parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces application performance as an intermediary between network parameters and user experience. Rather than directly correlating raw network metrics with user perception, the system uses actual application behavior (video streaming quality, gaming performance, VoIP clarity) as a mediator that translates network conditions into meaningful user experience indicators.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive network tests are performed, then accurate network quality assessment is achieved, but specific applications or hardware are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables user devices to perform comprehensive network testing themselves without requiring external specialized hardware or complex software installations. The device uses its own application ecosystem and processing capabilities to conduct tests and generate experience metrics, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating the need for additional testing infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal testing framework that works across multiple device types and operating systems using existing applications. Rather than requiring specialized testing hardware, the system leverages the multi-functionality of common applications (video players, games, communication apps) to perform comprehensive network assessments on any standard user device.
3Ease of operation
If network testing is conducted without considering service categories, then testing simplicity is maintained, but the results cannot accurately reflect performance for different services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments network testing into distinct service categories (video streaming, gaming, VoIP, web browsing) with category-specific performance metrics and test protocols. This segmentation allows the system to maintain operational simplicity through a unified interface while delivering precise, service-specific performance assessments by tailoring tests to each category's requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic test selection that automatically adjusts the testing protocol based on the detected service category. The system dynamically chooses appropriate metrics and test methods for each service type (e.g., prioritizing latency for gaming, bandwidth for video streaming) while maintaining a consistent user experience, thus preserving simplicity without sacrificing precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of obtaining qualitative information regarding network capabilities includes determining network identification information for an access network of a user responsive to receipt of a request from a user device to detect the access network of the user, determining network parameters for the access network, performing one or more additional network tests specific to categories of services or applications to obtain a qualitative assessment of the access network's capabilities relative to different categories of services or applications, and/or providing a graphical display of the qualitative assessment on the user device.