A QoS-based charging and resource allocation framework for next generation wireless networks

Wireless networks are evolving to include Internet access to interactive multimedia and video conferencing as well as traditional services such as voice, email and web access. These new applications can demand large amounts of network resources, such as bandwidth, to achieve the highest levels of quality (e.g. picture quality). In conjunction with this trend, charging and resource allocation systems must evolve to explicitly consider the trade-off between resource consumption and the Quality of Service (QoS) provided. This paper proposes a novel QoS-based charging and resource allocation framework. The framework allocates resources to customers based on their QoS perceptions and requirements, thereby charging fairly while improving resource allocation efficiency. It also allows the network operators to pursue a wide variety of policy options, including maximizing revenue or using auction or utility-based pricing.