System and method for determining mobile telephone voice quality in a live network

• US 8,121,591 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2011
• Issued: 02/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Spirent Communications Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Metrico Wireless, Inc.
• Inventors: Topaltzas, Dimitrios M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): Behnamian, Shahriar
• Application Number:
  US13/096,980
• Publication Number:
  US 20110207502A1
• Time in Patent Office: 299 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422.1, 455/423, 455/67.11, 455/424, 455/425, 455/428, 455/445, 379/10, 379/10.01, 379/13, 379/15.01, 379/27.01, 379/26.01, 379/29.01, 370/241, 370/241.1
• US Class Current: 455/423
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/06 Testing, supervising or monitoring using simulated traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A system and method for determining the quality of communications provided by a plurality of mobile telephones is provided. The method may comprise, for example, receiving one or more telephone voice signals from each mobile telephone; storing the one or more telephone voice signals in a memory; concurrently with aid receiving telephone voice signals from a mobile telephone, receiving one or more reference device voice signals from a reference device substantially co-located with the mobile telephone; storing the one or more reference device voice signals in a memory; determining voice quality data for the telephone voice signals; determining voice quality data for the reference device voice signals concurrently received with the telephone voice signals; and normalizing the voice quality data of the telephone voice signals from each mobile telephone based on the voice quality data of the reference device voice signals concurrently received with the telephone voice signals.

Claims

1. A method of determining the quality of voice communications provided by a plurality of mobile telephones, comprising:

storing in a memory one or more telephone voice signals communicated by each of the plurality of mobile telephones;

storing in a memory one or more reference device voice signals communicated concurrently with the telephone voice signals by a device substantially co-located with each mobile telephone that communicated the one or more telephone voice signals;

determining a voice quality data of the one or more telephone voice signals communicated by each mobile telephone;

determining a voice quality data of the one or more reference device voice signals communicated concurrently with the one or more telephone voice signals communicated by each mobile telephone; and

normalizing the voice quality data of the one or more telephone voice signals communicated by each mobile telephone based on the voice quality data of the one or more reference device voice signals communicated concurrently with the one or more telephone voice signals.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

for each mobile telephone, storing in a memory radio parameter data determined for radio conditions during the communication of the one or more telephone voice signals.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising sorting the normalized voice quality data of the plurality of mobile telephones based on the radio parameter data.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

a voice quality data of the one or more telephone voice signals comprises a telephone average voice quality;

a voice quality data of the one or more reference device voice signals comprises a reference device average voice quality; and

the method further comprising;

determining the difference of (1) the average voice quality data of the telephone voice signals of each mobile telephone and (2) the average voice quality data of the reference device voice signals received concurrently.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining whether the normalized voice quality data of one or more telephone voice signals communicated by a mobile telephone are above a predetermined threshold.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the voice quality data of the one or more telephone voice signals comprises an average voice quality sample.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining a voice quality value for each mobile telephone based on the normalized voice quality data of the one or more telephone voices signals communicated by each mobile telephone.

8. A computer program product stored in a non-transitory tangible computer readable medium and executable by a computer to determine the quality of voice communications provided by a plurality of mobile telephones, comprising:

a first code segment executable to store in a memory one or more telephone voice signals communicated by each of the plurality of mobile telephones;

a second code segment executable to store in a memory one or more reference device voice signals communicated concurrently with the telephone voice signals by a device substantially co-located with each mobile telephone that communicated the telephone voice signals;

a third first code segment executable to determine a voice quality data of the one or more telephone voice signals communicated by each mobile telephone;

a fourth code segment executable to determine a voice quality data of the one or more reference device voice signals communicated concurrently with the one or more telephone voice signals communicated by each mobile telephone; and

a fifth code segment executable to normalize the voice quality data of the one or more telephone voice signals communicated by from each mobile telephone based on the voice quality data of the one or more reference device voice signals communicated concurrently with the one or more telephone voice signals.

9. The computer program product according to claim 8, further comprising a sixth code segment executable to store in a memory, for each mobile telephone, radio parameter data determined for radio conditions during the communication of the one or more telephone voice signals.

10. The computer program product according to claim 9, further comprising a sixth code segment executable to sort the normalized voice quality data of the plurality of mobile telephones based on the radio parameter data.

11. The computer program product according to claim 8, wherein:

a voice quality data of the telephone voice signals comprises a telephone average voice quality;

a voice quality data of the reference device voice signals comprises a reference device average voice quality; and

the computer program product further comprising;

a sixth code segment executable to determine the difference of (1) the average voice quality data of the telephone voice signals of each mobile telephone and (2) the average voice quality data of the reference device voice signals received concurrently.

12. The computer program product according to claim 8, further comprising a sixth code segment executable to determine whether the normalized voice quality data of the one or more telephone voice signals of a mobile telephone are above a predetermined threshold.

13. The computer program product according to claim 8, wherein the voice quality data of the one or more telephone voice signals comprises an average voice quality.

14. The computer program product according to claim 8, further comprising a sixth code segment executable to determine a voice quality value for each mobile telephone based on the normalized voice quality data of the one or more telephone voices signals communicated by each mobile telephone.

15. A method of determining the quality of communications provided by a mobile telephone in a mobile telephone network, comprising:

(a) receiving one or more telephone voice signals communicated by a mobile telephone;

(b) concurrently with said receiving one or more telephone voice signals, receiving one or more reference device voice signals communicated by a reference device substantially co-located with the mobile telephone;

(c) determining voice quality samples for the telephone voice signals;

(d) determining voice quality samples for the reference device voice signals;

(e) determining a first average comprising an average of the voice quality samples of the mobile telephone;

(f)) determining a second average comprising an average of the voice quality samples of the reference device;

(g) comparing the first average with the second average to provide a first normalized average; and

performing processes a-g for a plurality of mobile telephones.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising comparing the first normalized average with a normalized average of a plurality of the plurality of mobile telephones.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein said receiving one or more telephone voice signals communicated by a mobile telephone comprises receiving voice signals that were transmitted through a mobile telephone network by the mobile telephone.

18. The method according to claim 15, further comprising determining associated radio parameter data for radio conditions for each of the plurality of mobile telephones during the communication of the one or more telephone voice signals.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising providing a comparison of the normalized first average of the plurality of mobile telephones based on the radio parameter data associated with each mobile telephone.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the comparison comprises one or more groupings of mobile telephones having similar associated radio parameter data.