QoE for Interactive Services in 5G Networks: Data-driven Analysis and ML-based Prediction

Nowadays, the focus in 5G networks has shifted from Quality of Service (QoS) to Quality of Experience (QoE) characterisation and prediction. As a matter of fact, mobile operators are increasingly interested in measuring and/or predicting QoE Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on their 5G networks. In this context, a recent methodology by the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) allows to characterize the level of interactivity achievable by real-time services on 5G networks, by computing a synthetic QoE KPI referred to as interactivity score (i-score). The i-score, defined as the measurable latency, continuity, and reliability of a given service, is computed by using a model that takes into account three QoS KPIs, i.e., packet trip time, jitter, and loss rate. In this paper, aiming at assessing the effectiveness of the ITU-T methodology in characterizing 5G network performance, we analyze a large-scale measurement campaign executed over two commercial 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) deployments in the city of Rome, Italy. During this campaign, traces related to radio coverage and service performance (i.e., the i-score and corresponding KPIs needed to compute it) were collected in parallel. Therefore, we use the dataset to characterize the observed i-score performance, and demonstrate that it is possible to successfully predict this KPI with machine learning techniques, using radio layer parameters and power measurements. Mobile operators could take advantage of our findings, minimizing the need for time/resource-consuming QoE tests. Ensemble methods in fact achieve an accuracy spanning from 0.79 to 0.83, with Random Forest as one of the best algorithm to predict the i-score from radio layer parameters.