Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)

Stuart Clark

Miguel Angel Muñoz De La Torre Alonso

Rodrigo Alvarez Dominguez

Alfonso De Jesus Perez Martinez

Pablo Molinero Fernandez

Miguel Angel Pallares Lopez

A method for classifying packets includes determining an execution indication indicating at least one amongst a service and application being executed on a user terminal and generating uplink packets; determining a marker on the basis of PCC rules available at the user terminal and at least one execution indication, the marker for identifying at least one of a service and an application associated to uplink packets; transmitting the marker and the uplink packets, to a PCEF network entity; determining an uplink classification, at the PCEF network entity, for received uplink packets based on the marker; storing, at said PCEF network entity, an association between information related to an uplink flow corresponding to the uplink packets and uplink classification; receiving, at said PCEF network entity, downlink packets corresponding to the uplink packets; determining a downlink classification, at the PCEF network entity, for received downlink packets based on the stored association.

Method, user terminal, and policy and charging network entity for classifying packets

Currently existing mechanisms to optimize the quality of experience (QoE) in accordance with user data plans are rather based on user self-managed usage of his mobile user data plan with, for example, help from external applications which continuously evaluate the limits reached. There is thus a need for deployment of intelligence in the network, in order to avoid abrupt downgrades in the QoE for subscribers that go over the monthly quota of their data plan. To overcome these problems, or at least to mitigate them, an embodiment of the present invention provides for an optimization of the user's quota by gradually reducing the required bandwidth for the content that the user requests. This is achieved by a method which takes into account the consumed/remaining volumes in the user data plan as well as the user browsing habits, and which provides context enrichment to content providers to enable taking decisions.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Stuart Clark