A Stimulus-Response Mechanism for Charging Enhanced Quality-of-User Experience in Next Generation All-IP Networks

Traditional Internet pricing focuses on the link between Quality-of-Service (QoS) provided by the network and corresponding charges paid by the user who thus reacts to the current network status. However, the key success factor for future packet-switched networks is not network-centric QoS, but rather the service quality as perceived by the user (Quality-of-User Experience, QoE). With respect to pricing, this implies a fundamental change of perspective. This paper discusses a promising model for QoE-based charging which requires direct user feedback as a joint signal of current perceived quality and willingness-to-pay and explores technical requirements and options for realizing this approach in the framework of Next Generation All-IP network architectures.

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