Patent ID: 7782777

Claim:
A method comprising: determining whether a packet data network is operating in one of two operating modes; determining a congestion level in said packet data network based on whether the packet data network is operating in the one of the two operating modes; and selecting, based on said determined congestion level, one of the two operating modes for performing a network congestion handling, wherein the two operating modes comprise one or more of a first operating mode, a second operating mode, a third operating mode, a fourth operating mode, wherein the first operating mode is applied below a first congestion level and uses no congestion control methods, the second operating mode is applied between said first congestion level and a higher second congestion level and uses a second congestion control method based on quality requirements of applications, the third operating mode is applied between said second congestion level and a higher third congestion level and uses a third congestion control method based on a reduction of a traffic amount inserted to said packet data network, and the fourth operating mode is applied above said third congestion level and uses a fourth congestion control method based on a sharing of resources between at least one of different flows and customers, wherein the sharing of resources divides a capacity of said packet data network proportional to nominal bit rates, wherein the two operating modes comprise a quality-based operating mode configured to control a first network congestion based on quality requirements of the applications, and a quantity-based operating mode configured to control a second network congestion based on the sharing of resources between at least one of the different flows and customers, and wherein said quality-based operating mode is selected at a lower congestion level, and said quantity-based operating mode is selected at a higher congestion level, wherein the selecting is implemented by network element.