Regardless of the application, customers’ satisfaction doesn’t just rely on raw speed or bandwidth anymore. It extends to the Quality of Experience (QoE) provided by their Broadband Service Provider (BSP).
Recognizing this shift, the Broadband Forum has launched a new initiative to help BSPs truly understand and improve end-users’ perceived broadband experience.
The Service Types and QoE Parameters Project
To bridge the gap between technical metrics and user experience, the Broadband Forum’s latest project, titled “Service Types, QoE Parameters and Evaluation (WT-524),” introduces new parameters and advanced tools for assessing QoE. While traditional metrics such as bandwidth, latency, and jitter have been the industry norm for years in measuring broadband performance, these do not directly reflect how well end-users experience specific services and applications.
By leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and consolidating fragmented industry standards, this project will provide BSPs with a unified, automated approach to measure QoE. This initiative aims to create a comprehensive resource fueled by cutting-edge algorithms to define, evaluate, and elevate user satisfaction benchmarks.
Why QoE Measurement Matters for BSPs
Understanding and improving QoE is no longer optional for BSPs; it’s a competitive edge. Here’s why:
- Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: When BSPs can truly measure the quality their customers experience, they can improve service delivery in meaningful ways.
- Reduced Churn: Frustrated customers leave. By ensuring high QoE, BSPs can lower customer turnover and build long-term loyalty.
- Higher Service Adoption: Accurate QoE will allow BSPs to tailor services to specific user needs, increasing adoption rates and revenue.
- Proactive Problem-Solving: Real-time QoE insights help anticipate issues before they affect users.
“In an evolving landscape with increasingly advanced, real-time services, BSPs need to understand the true quality of their offerings. This will enable them to deliver dynamic solutions that match the requirements of individual applications,” says Craig Thomas, CEO of Broadband Forum.
How QoE Will Be Measured and Optimized
The challenge of “perceived experience” lies in its subjectivity. New models under the WT-524 project aim to provide a reliable estimation of QoE by combining technical Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with AI-powered interpretations. Some of the key areas include:
- Content Quality: Measuring the visual and auditory aspects users experience, such as the crispness of streamed 4K video.
- Transaction Quality: Evaluating service reliability, whether it’s ordering food delivery or video conferencing.
- Network Performance: Enhancing conventional metrics like bandwidth and latency to reflect their impact on real-world applications.
Additionally, the project introduces the idea of Quality of Outcome (QoO). This concept estimates how well an application delivers its intended purpose from an end-user perspective, ensuring that BSPs don’t just fix issues but also improve user satisfaction.
Consolidating Standards for a Unified Solution
Another critical element of the Broadband Forum’s initiative is standardization. The industry currently suffers from fragmented QoE indicators and algorithms divided across various specifications. By collaborating with organizations like IETF and ITU-T, the Broadband Forum aims to develop a consolidated resource that serves as a single “one stop shop” for BSPs.
This collaboration will streamline how operational teams across networks assess and handle service issues, simultaneously creating an objective, understandable network quality score.
Driving Collaboration Across the Broadband Ecosystem
The success of this project hinges not just on technical innovation but on collective efforts across the broadband industry. Stakeholders ranging from standards engineers to ISPs and application developers are invited to contribute insights.
Central to this collaborative model is the Broadband Forum’s Town Hall Innovation Series and Service Provider Action Council (SPAC) sessions. Both provide platforms to discuss real-world QoE challenges and accelerate the adoption of meaningful, scalable solutions.
To truly transform broadband-related quality assessments, the Broadband Forum encourages contributions from new service types, technical approaches, and innovative evaluation criteria.
What This Means for End Users
While the primary audience for this project may be enterprise-level BSPs, end users stand to gain the most. Here’s what customers can expect as BSPs adopt the new QoE standards:
- Fewer Connectivity Issues: Real-time insights mean quicker resolutions to performance bottlenecks.
- Personalized Services: Higher QoE fosters the delivery of applications custom-built for specific user preferences.
- Transparent Quality Ratings: Objective, understandable quality scores will empower end users to choose between competing service providers with confidence.
Ultimately, this forward-thinking project sets the stage for a win-win scenario where BSPs can innovate, grow, and maintain loyal customer bases while transforming the way users experience broadband.
A Call to Action for the Industry
The Broadband Forum’s WT-524 is a rallying cry for the broadband industry to innovate and collaborate like never before. By standardizing QoE assessments and incorporating advanced tools and models, this initiative is not just about keeping pace with technology but about staying ahead of the curve.
Craig Thomas summarizes it well, stating, “The user’s service requirements must be known to improve service delivery. Broadband Forum’s latest project is paving the way to make this services-led broadband approach a reality for BSPs.”
BSPs have long relied on raw data to assess network performance. But as customer expectations evolve, it’s clear that true QoE measurement is the key to future success. To get involved in the project, email: info@broadband-forum.org.
