User-perceived QoS in a wireless packet network with multiple channel conditions

Abstract

This paper analyzes the user-perceived QoS (Quality of Service) of interactive data application, the most notable being web browsing, in a shared wireless packet access network. We present elaborate analytical results regarding the mean page delay, the Equivalent Circuit Rate (ECR), and the system saturation point for interactive data users with different channel conditions. The ECR for a user in a shared access network is the channel rate that a dedicated connection would need in order to offer an equivalent user experience. The system saturation point is the maximum number of users that can be served with a given tolerable service delay in a shared packet access system. These analytical results are useful in the performance prediction of a real wireless environment with multiple user groups that are served with different service rates due to multiple channel conditions. Therefore, our analytical results can be used in the network planning, admission control, and service differentiation for different user groups. Our analysis is demonstrated to be in good accord with computer simulations performed on model systems based on EDGE TDMA and FEEE 802.16 OFDMA.