Third generation cellular technologies, such as UMTS, are able to offer users much higher data rates than previous generations. With the increase in data rates, users have a selection of a wider range of data services. As these data services become more widely used, it is important for network operators to not only concern themselves with the quality of service for voice calls but data calls as well. The user experience will be a key factor in determining the network operator's success. This research presents a methodology for evaluating quality of data services in cellular UMTS networks. The methodology is based on data collected through drive testing and it can be easily extended to other cellular data services. The presented approach is agnostic relative to technology and data service type and it may be readily used as a standard way for network QoS evaluations. The approach is verified through a drive test data collection campaign conducted on a live cellular network in Melbourne, FL, USA.
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