Load balance performance analysis with a quality of experience perspective in LTE networks

Abstract

Due to the huge increase in traffic and services in mobile networks, network management has changed its main focus from Quality of Service (QoS) to a Quality of Experience (QoE) perspective. In addition, Self Organising Networks (SON) techniques have been developed to automate network management, being load balancing a key use case. Load balancing aim is to balance the traffic among adjacent cells. This balance is expected to decrease the overall blocking ratio, thus increasing the total carried traffic in the network. Nevertheless, this technique may fail when QoE perspective is considered. In this work, a QoE network performance analysis is performed in a LTE network with different services and traffic conditions. Different traffic sharing techniques are tested and limitations of classical cell load balancing algorithm are shown when a QoE performance perspective is considered.