QoE-aware OTT-ISP collaboration in service management: Architecture and approaches

It is a matter of fact that quality of experience (QoE) has become one of the key factors determining whether a new multimedia service will be successfully accepted by the final users. Accordingly, several QoE models have been developed with the aim of capturing the perception of the user by considering as many influencing factors as possible. However, when it comes to adopting these models in the management of the services and networks, it frequently happens that no single provider has access to all of the tools to either measure all influencing factors parameters or control over the delivered quality. In particular, it often happens to the over-the-top (OTT) and Internet service providers (ISPs), which act with complementary roles in the service delivery over the Internet. On the basis of this consideration, in this article we first highlight the importance of a possible OTT-ISP collaboration for a joint service management in terms of technical and economic aspects. Then we propose a general reference architecture for a possible collaboration and information exchange among them. Finally, we define three different approaches, namely joint venture, customer lifetime value based, and QoE fairness based. The first aims to maximize the revenue by providing better QoE to customers paying more. The second aims to maximize the profit by providing better QoE to the most profitable customers (MPCs). The third aims to maximize QoE fairness among all customers. Finally, we conduct simulations to compare the three approaches in terms of QoE provided to the users, profit generated for the providers, and QoE fairness.