Methodology to evaluate user experience in non-fully loaded wireless communication systems

Abstract:
Evaluating user experience in wireless communication systems is, especially for operators, an important issue and ongoing research topic. In contrast to most of the literature, where the main focus is on network capacity evaluations using full-buffer traffic assumptions, we focus on more realistic traffic models to evaluate impacts of different network deployment strategies. We define three different service classes each having its own requirements regarding user experience. Goal of the presented approach is to recreate aggregated data volumes and active times by flexible service combinations. In this paper a traffic modeling methodology is presented and used, in order to assess the impact of increasing user data demand in conjunction with available wireless spectrum extensions, on the user experience and the average cell load in 4G (Long Term Evolution, LTE) networks. Results show non-linear impact of the investigated parameters, which highlights the need of realistic traffic model simulations for the evaluation of user experience improvement strategies.