The impact of QoS support on the end user satisfaction in LTE networks with mixed traffic

How good is a best effort network for different services in multi-service LTE networks? In this paper, we try to answer the question in the context of capacity of an LTE network with users concurrently running multiple services. We present a system simulation study for two-service scenarios with VoIP and a second service represented by real-time video, mobile TV, or web surfing. We present results for a best effort network and compare to those for a network with QoS provisioning. The study demonstrates that traffic differentiation and service prioritization are particularly crucial when a delay-critical service, e.g., VoIP, is in combination with a delay-insensitive intensive traffic. By prioritizing VoIP, we achieve VoIP capacity comparable to that in pure VoIP simulations at a cost of a few-percent capacity loss of the second service. A simple model for network capacity assessment for the two network types is presented to support our observations theoretically.