Data service performance analysis in GPRS systems

We describe an analytical approach for deriving the packet delay distribution in a cell of a wireless network operating on the general packet radio service (GPRS) standard. Based on that, the average packet delay and packet loss probability are also computed. Our approach is based on a decomposition of system behavior into short-term and long-term behaviors to simplify the analytical modeling. In addition to the effect of voice call handoffs, the impact of packet forwarding and dedicated data channels on data service performance is also taken into consideration. The performance estimates produced by the analytical approach are compared with those generated by simulation experiments. The comparison results confirm the relative accuracy of the analytical approach.