Radio communication systems, such as cellular systems, provide users with the convenience of mobility. This convenience has spawned significant adoption by consumers as an accepted mode of communication for business and personal uses. Cellular service providers, for example, have fueled this acceptance by developing more enhanced network services and applications. Because of the variety in the types of subscribers and their communication needs, service providers have concentrated on offering services that reflect differing levels of Quality of Service (QoS). For example, for personal use, a subscriber may be amenable to a lower QoS level (e.g., relatively higher delay, lower data rate, or lower availability) as trade off for lower fees. On the other hand, a business subscriber is likely to require a higher QoS level, as minimal delay, high speed and high availability are of primary import versus cost. Unfortunately, the developments in QoS support have varied greatly, resulting in inefficient use of network resources (stemming from higher overhead in implementing QoS services), among other concerns.
QoS support from one service provider's network to the next provider's system can be complex because of potential incompatibilities in their hardware and software platforms. This complexity is further magnified when QoS support is required from one end point to another end point. End-to-end QoS support poses additional challenges to service providers, as they have less control in deploying upgrades or changes to the end user terminals.
Therefore, there is a need for an approach for QoS control that minimizes use of network resources.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds