Evolution of Traffic Patterns in Telecommunication Systems

This paper compares new empirical data from mobile and IP telephony with old measurements of the Plain Old Telephony Service (POTS). The results show the impact on traffic patterns from the changes in technology from fixed to mobile phones, reduction in speech quality from fixed phone to mobile and IP phones, changes in tariffs from usage based to flat-rate subscriptions, and introduction of alternative message based communication services. The results in the paper indicate that the traffic pattern evolution and variations are dominated by the tariffs and the daily life cycle that changes the user's context and demand. Significant changes in the daily and weekly traffic profiles are observed. Moreover, the average call holding times are very senstitive to the pricing scheme. Finally, the results indicate that Short Message Service (SMS) seems to serve as a supplement to phone calls, in particular in the evenings.