Approaches to Quality of Experience management in the future Internet

Previously dominating research on the Internet Quality of Service (QoS), focused on network performance, has now been shifted towards the customer experience. This paper addresses Quality of Experience (QoE) management issues in the future Internet. We provide a brief overview of QoE metrics and assessment methodologies, and discuss potential relationships between the QoE and network performance parameters. Further, we discuss open technical issues in achieving the inter-provider QoS, including large scale end-to-end measurements. User-centric management assumes a layered approach that includes network infrastructure, network performance, and the user awareness. Business opportunities for service providers in the context of QoE management are also emphasized. We conclude the paper with a list of the most important directions for further research in the area.