Maximizing End-User's Quality of Experience Within a Mobile Data Plan

摘要

Currently existing mechanisms to optimize the quality of experience (QoE) in accordance with user data plans are rather based on user self-managed usage of his mobile user data plan with, for example, help from external applications which continuously evaluate the limits reached. There is thus a need for deployment of intelligence in the network, in order to avoid abrupt downgrades in the QoE for subscribers that go over the monthly quota of their data plan. To overcome these problems, or at least to mitigate them, an embodiment of the present invention provides for an optimization of the user's quota by gradually reducing the required bandwidth for the content that the user requests. This is achieved by a method which takes into account the consumed/remaining volumes in the user data plan as well as the user browsing habits, and which provides context enrichment to content providers to enable taking decisions.

主权项

1. A method of a policy and charging rules function server, hereinafter PCRF server, of a telecommunications network having a traffic detection function device, hereinafter TDF device, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving a user identifier at a network interface unit of the PCRF server for a user session; obtaining through the network interface unit remaining quota and subscriber habits for the user identifier on user session and services sessions basis; submitting through the network interface unit of the PCRF server the remaining quota and subscriber habits on user session and services sessions basis for the user identifier to the TDF device; receiving at the network interface unit of the PCRF server usage monitoring information for the user session and for a particular service session from the TDF device; using the usage monitoring information to re-calculate with a processing unit of the PCRF server a new remaining quota and subscriber habits for the user identifier; sending from the network interface unit the new remaining quota and subscriber habits for the user identifier to the TDF device; and upon receiving an indication of session termination, updating values of remaining quota and subscriber habits for the user identifier to be used for a subsequent user session for the user identifier.