This paper addresses a technique for multiplexing voice streams into an IP packet for efficient VoIP transportation. The principles and distinctive schemes are presented and a comparative performance evaluation of the schemes based on a prototype is provided. In this paper, a scheme using a dynamic packet length threshold is proposed. As a conclusion, we show the scheme is beneficial for shortening packetization delay compared with the scheme in which multiple coded blocks in one voice stream are carried by an IP packet and superior with respect to reducing the header overhead and the number of generated packets.

This paper investigates the relations between IP network performances and the speech quality of the Voice over IP (VoIP) service through extensive experiments on a test bed network. The aim is to establish an effective and practical methodology for telecommunications operators to manage the quality of VoIP service via the management of IP network performances under their control. As IP network performances, utilization of the bottleneck link in the test bed and the following statistical factors of VoIP packets are examined: the standard deviation of delay variations (jitters), the standard deviation of packet interarrival times, and the packet loss ratio. On the other hand, VoIP speech quality is monitored as the Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ). To investigate the relations under various network conditions, the experiments are performed by varying the following network related parameters of the test bed: the bandwidth of the bottleneck link, the size of the bottleneck buffer, the propagation delay, and the average of the data sizes transmitted as background data traffic. Statistical analyses of the experimental results suggest that managing the standard deviation of jitters in a network serves as a promising methodology, because its close relation to VoIP speech quality possesses robustness to changes in the network conditions. The robustness makes it practically useful since telecommunications operators can apply it to their networks, which are subject to change. The findings in this paper have opened up new visions for telecommunications operators to manage the Quality of Service (QoS) of VoIP service.

We present a quantitative evaluation of speech quality using the multiplexing scheme for the efficient transmission of voice signals in order to reduce the number of the IP packets carrying voice signals (called VoIP packets) transferred. The multiplexing scheme is applicable to a variety of media gateways controlling the bulk of voice streams over IP-based networks, based on VoIP technology. We speculated that the multiplexing scheme would reduce the degradation of speech quality due to packet loss since it also has a similar effect to interleaving the voice signal streams. However, the interleaving effect for maintaining speech quality in the scheme characterized by the feature of IP-based multiplication is not quantitatively clear. Through our end-to-end quality evaluation results of speech, as transmitted via the multiplexing scheme using dedicated hardware, we confirm the advantages of the multiplexing scheme from the perspective of achieving improved speech quality without increasing the processing delay when considering practical packet loss conditions within an IP-based network.

A feature of services provided in a Next Generation Network (NGN) is that the end-to-end quality is guaranteed. This is quite a challenging issue, given the considerable fluctuation in network conditions within a Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) network. Therefore, a novel approach, whereby a network node and a mobile terminal such as a cellular phone cooperate with each other to control service quality is essential. In order to achieve such cooperation, the mobile terminal needs to become more intelligent so it can estimate the service quality, including the user's perceptual quality, and notify the measurement result to the network node. Subsequently, the network node implements some kind of service control function, such as a resource and admission control function, based on the notification from the mobile terminal. In this paper, the role of the mobile terminal in such collaborative system is focused on. As a part of a QoS/QoE measurement system, we describe an objective speech quality assessment with payload discrimination of lost packets to measure the user's perceptual quality of VoIP. The proposed assessment is so simple that it can be implemented on a cellular phone. We therefore did this as part of the QoS/QoE measurement system. By using the implemented system, we can measure the user's perceptual quality of VoIP as well as the network QoS metrics, in terms of criteria such as packet loss rate, jitter and burstiness in real time.

Based on the similarity in current-voltage characteristics of resonant-tunneling diodes (RTDs) and tunneling-type superconductive Josephson junctions, novel current-mode logic circuits consisting of four RTDs have been proposed. NAND and NOR functions, as well as AND and OR, can be obtained in a simple circuit configuration. SPICE simulation showed that the present circuits can operate at a clock frequency as high as 200 GHz.