Approach for activation of IP services with guaranteed QoS using signalling mechanisms

Internet Protocol-based applications are the prevailing trend of the telecommunications market, but the path towards the "IP over everything" target is not unhampered. The main shortcoming of IP is its inability to provide guaranteed quality of service (QoS), although significant effort is spent within different standardization bodies and organizations. We propose an architecture for the activation of Internet services based on the existing service level specification (SLS), with guaranteed QoS using signalling mechanisms and IP QoS signalling protocols. The customer is provided with an uncomplicated interface to specify his service request while the service provider performs service management effectively in an aggregated manner. The novelty of the proposed approach is the reduction of the operational cost of an Internet service provider (ISP) and the time needed for a customer to request and access services.