Performance Evaluation of 3G Internet Access

Internet technology is advancing with increasing internet applications demands. However, most developing countries have poor internet experience. Thus, the Quality of Service, QoS of an internet technology, Third Generation, 3G in a developing country, Nigeria was studied. Voice over internet protocol, VoIP and Video Streaming were the internet applications while CODECs and node density were the choice of the performance parameters. Thus, the performance of the 3G network (simulated in Qualnet 6.2) was evaluated based on QoS performance metrics (Average End-to-End Delay (s), Average Jitter (s), Throughput (bps) and Mean Opinion Score). The results showed 3G network can deliver reasonable QoS for VoIP depending on CODEC choice and that node density has adverse effect on QoS. The problem identified for Nigeria was total reliance on mobile broadband and high node density. Upgrading of 3G network, migration to 4G network and revival of fixed networks were recommended to improve QoS.