Patent ID: 8355413

Claim:
A system for controlling quality of service (QoS) provided for a packet flow for communication of a mobile station, comprising: a packet data serving node (PDSN) for providing a packet interface between a radio access network providing wireless communication for the mobile station and a packet data communication network; and a QoS policy table, accessible by the PDSN, containing a plurality of QoS policies for respective predefined possible classes of QoS available for packet communication through the system and the radio access network, each policy for a respective predefined class of QoS having one or more QoS parameters defining a corresponding level of service for packet communications through the system and the radio access network; wherein after the packet flow has been established through the radio access network and the PDSN for wireless packet communication service for the mobile station, at a granted first predefined class of QoS, the PDSN is configured to perform functions comprising: (a) during processing of the established packet flow through the wireless communication network for the wireless packet communication service for the mobile station in accord with one or more parameters of the policy for the granted first predefined class of QoS to provide the level of service corresponding to the granted first predefined class of QoS in the processing of the established packet flow through the wireless communication network, detecting a triggering condition relative to the established packet flow through the radio access network and the PDSN for the wireless packet communication service for the mobile station; (b) responsive to the detection of said triggering condition, using one or more parameters of the established packet flow to identify a QoS policy for a second predefined class of QoS to grant to the packet flow, from among the plurality of possible predefined classes of QoS available for packet communications through the radio access network and the PDSN, in the QoS policy table, for application to processing of the established packet flow; and (c) upon the granted second predefined class of QoS differing from the granted first predefined class of QoS, instructing an element of the radio access network controlling wireless packet service for the mobile station to modify an operation with regard to processing of the established packet flow for the mobile station, to process packets of the flow in accord with the one or more parameters of the QoS policy for the granted second predefined class of QoS to provide the level of service corresponding to the granted second predefined class of QoS in the further processing of the established packet flow through the system and the radio access network.