MOS-- Mean Opinion Score

Keywords
Speech quality, MOS, mute, noise, garble noise
Abstract
This guide describes common speech quality problems and their general principles and
summarizes the ideas and methods for testing, tracing, isolating, and locating the
problems, and KPI improvement of speech quality
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Acronyms and
Abbreviations
Full Spelling
MOS mean opinion score
P!S" perceptual evaluation of speech quality
P!S"#$" P!S" listening quality
S"I speech quality inde%
&ll net'or( elements used by the t'o parties of a speech call may cause speech quality
problems In problem analysis, possible reasons need to be considered from the end)to)
end angle
&ll operations must strictly follo' operation processes It also has very detailed and
strict rules on e%periment parameters, such as*
Recording system
Speech samples
Speech input levels
Listening levels
Different talkers (eight male, eight female, and eight children)
Multiple talkers (Several persons speak simultaneously.)
Errors
nteropera!ility "ith other speech coding standards
Mismatch
Environmental noise
Music
P.862 PESQ
P!S" is developed by +ritish Telecom and KP, and is adopted by IT- as the P./0
specification in 0112 P!S" compares the voice signals and deterioration signals and
provides a MOS score, similar to manual hearing evaluation test The functions of
P!S", ho'ever, are more po'erful P!S" can test both effects of net'or( elements
such as decoders and quality of end)to)end voices It provides test results mainly based
on different reasons of signal deterioration, such as encoding and decoding distortion,
errors, pac(et loss, delays, 3itter, and filtering
P!S" scores range from )14 to 54 The larger the value is, the better the speech
quality is 6enerally, the scores range from 2 to 54
PESQ!Q
P!S" scores, ho'ever, have certain tendencies that are li(ely to bring optimistic
evaluation for poor speech and pessimistic evaluation for good speech Therefore, the
standard is optimized The function for converting P!S" scores to P!S")$" scores is
provided The score is similar to sub3ective MOS values describes the relationship
bet'een P!S")$" scores and sub3ective e%perience
Scores and sub3ective perceptions
Score Quality o" t#e speec#
4 !%cellent
5 6ood
7 8air
0 Poor
2 +ad
The conversion formula is as follo's*
LQ PESQ y
PESQScore x
x x x x
x
y
=
=

> + +

=
# . $ , %&''() . & )%(*++ . & ',**%+ . $ $)#&*, . %
# . $ , % . $
& '
P862.$
IT- also proposes an optimization standard, namely P./02 and provides a 'ay of
mapping P!S" scores directly to MOS)$"O scores The conversion formula is as
follo's*
) $ . ,*& . (
$
+++ . % +++ . (
+++ . %
**%# . ( - (+() . $
P LQO PESQ y
PESQScore x
e
y
x
=
=
+

+ =
+
Speec# Quality %esters
.hird/party testers0
9S$&
S'issqual
:omarco
;ising
1endors2 testers0
!ricsson* T!MS
<ua'ei* Probe
,o(ia* ,emo
&S!A
9S$& is short for digital speech level analyser
Manufacturer0 Malden
Standards supported0 3ES453ES4/L453,*&.$
6unctions0 speech 7uality test
8vaila!ility0 9ua"ei !ought many and $) are availa!le in the asset !ase.
Advantages:
:ot e;pensive, medium si<e, and easy to carry
:o re7uirements of terminal types
8!le to test delay of voice service on the user plane
Disadvantages:
=omplicated de!ugging and unsta!le test results
=a!le connection of terminals and testers, re7uiring close locations of the
calling and called parties> not suita!le for commercial test !et"een ?E and
3S.:
Moderate recognition among customers
%E'S
T!MS
Manufacturer0 Ericsson
Standards supported0 S4 and 3ES4 (additional hard"are support needed>
integrated in version ,.%, &%%()
6unctions0 all/round @3 drive test tool, not limited to speech 7uality test
8vaila!ility0 one in Aermany (net"ork planning), supporting test of 'A
speech 7uality
Advantages:
S4 is a speech 7uality evaluation algorithm at the "ireless side. t can avoid
the strong correlation "ith speech 7uality samples.
Supporting 3ES4
Disadvantages:
E;pensive (not confirmed)
E7uipment providers2 drive test tool, "ith average recognition among
customers
(ecommended %ool) Probe
Probe is a drive test tool developed by <ua'ei It provides the speech evaluation
function since version 24 and supports automatic test and scoring
Probe requires support by <ua'ei -..111 The most outstanding characteristic of
Probe is that it does not need to be connected to any independent speech evaluation
device Probe is easy to carry =hat is more important is that digital transmission of
speech frames can avoid interference caused by traditional analog lines.
The connection diagram is as follo's*

Manufacturer0 9ua"ei
Standards supported0 3ES4 and 3,*&.$
6unctions0 all/round @3 drive test tool, not limited to speech 7uality test
8vaila!ility0 9ua"ei product, easy to o!tain
Advantages:
.est speech samples are played and recorded on ?E> therefore, e;ternal
interference and ca!le loss are eliminated.
:o special hard"are re7uirement and easy to carry
9ua"ei product "ithout purchase
Disadvantages:
8verage recognition among customers
Supporting fe" 9ua"ei terminals only
>oice ;ecording :ollection by Probe
&fter tests, users need to collect the follo'ing data for analysis*
gen files recorded !y 3ro!e &.&, for e;ample, 3ro!eB&%%+%(&'$$&#(+.gen f
users do not change the save path, .gen files are saved in the default path
=0CAE:ED Logfile.
System log files (optional) recorded !y 3ro!e &.& are .log files named !y dates,
for e;ample, AE:ED 3ro!e&%%+/%)/$$.log. .he default path for saving
system log files is the soft"are installation directoryClog.
1oice recording files "ith lo" scores (degraded voice files) are ."av file named
!y dates. f users do not change the path for saving voice recording files
"hen they configure test plans, the voice recording files "ill !e saved in the
path sho"n in .
3ath for saving voice recording files
*ideband A'(
>oice services on -MTS net'or(s use the &M; standard for speech coding The
speech coding technology 'ith a ma%imum rate of 200 Kbps is called narro'band &M;
The speech coding technology 'ith a ma%imum rate of 07. Kbps is called 'ideband
&M; ?released in 2@@@A =ideband &M; uses large band'idths and is able to (eep
high)frequency information in voices
Speech Quality Improvement Features
*ideband A'( +*A'(,
(ecommendation !evel
Medium
8e' commercial terminals support =&M;
-ains
9ifferent speech coding technologies are compared in WCDMA for UMTS - Radio
Access for Third Generation Mobile Communications, 3rd Ed The boo( reveals that
=&M; can provide better sub3ective e%perience given similar band'idths
&eployment
.his feature needs to !e supported !y terminals, R:S, and =:.
.his feature is optional and needs license support.
Serial number of the feature: =;89)121/27
Availability: This feature is introduced since version ;&,/1 and is a 76PP ;4 feature
(is.s and /autions
:urrently, no mobile phones support the =&M; feature :ertain ,o(ia terminals,
ho'ever, can support =&M; after ,o(ia helps to update the soft'are
%F01%rF0
(ecommendation !evel
<igh
Principle
Tr8O is short for Transcoder 8ree Operation, that is, calls from mobile terminal -! to -!
do not go through T: coding and decoding processes
:oding and decoding units T: on =:9M& net'or(s belong to M6= =hen t'o mobile
terminals on the ;5 net'or( communicate, &M; speech used on the =:9M& terminal
is transmitted on the entire path and does not need to go through T: coding and
decoding conversion, that is conversion from &M; speech to 6B22P:M speech and
then to &M; speech
Tr8O is implemented through outband signaling It can also be implemented through in)
band signaling, namely T8O 9uring decoding, the T8O module inserts indicator bits
according to certain rules into the frame data sent by a mobile phone 9uring coding,
either T8O or T: is used If T8O can e%tract the indicator bit from the code stream, T:
coding is not used Other'ise, T: coding is used
That means compared 'ith Tr8O, T8O occupies certain T: resources for e%tracting
T8O indicator bits T8O uses t'o lo'er bits of the P:M frame for transmission That is,
the medium and the lo' bits in the T9M line transmit &M;C!8; speech data The si%
bits above are 'asteful, and therefore do not save band'idths Improvement of speech
quality, ho'ever, is the same
-ains
Improvement of speech quality is ensured only for mobile phone to mobile phone calls,
at about 10
&eployment
+oth the :, and ;&, need to support this function
The Tr8O function is activated if the ;,: supports I--P >ersion0 The Tr8O function is
enabled if both the :, and ;,: support it
R8: side
2ersion re3uirement) .his feature is introduced since version R8:'.% and
is a 'A33 R( feature.
Serial number o" t#e "eature) ER6D/%$$*%%. .his feature is optional and
customers need to !uy licenses.
Switc#) n addition to licenses, the ??3 1ersion & must also !e ena!led.
R:= LM.
=ommand0 SE. ?=FRRM8LAFSE.=9
3arameter0 ??3B1&BS3.BSE.=9. 1alue $ indicates that the s"itch is on.
1alue % indicates that the s"itch is off.
Description of the command0
??3B1&BS3.BSE.=9 (s"itch of supporting ??3 version &)0 Ehen the
s"itch is on and Gsupporting ??3 version &G is activated, the R:= supports
the 6.F5.r6F function.
=: side
6rom the access signaling of voice services, "e can check "hether the =:
supports the function.
Signaling is R8H 8SS RE4 of the u interface. .he source is u3/
Mode1ersions0%%%%%%%%%%%%%%$$ in the figure !elo".
.he ??3 version that the =: supports is indicated "ith $* !its, indicating
"hether 1$* to 1$ are supported separately. f a version is supported, the
value is $.
n up/Mode1ersions0%%%%%%%%%%%%$$ in the a!ove figure, the last t"o !its
are $ and all the other !its are %. .herefore, 1& and 1$ are supported and
other versions are not supported.
9ua"ei products generally support 1$ and 1&.
.he =: .r6F function is ena!led on the MS=. Ena!le the .r6F function for
specific peer end devices. 6or e;ample, ena!le the .r6F function for the
R:=&$% !y running the follo"ing command0
MFD F6=0 F:IGR:=&$%G, S?3..R6FIJES>
(is.s and /autions
UE compatibility issues may cause call drops.
In ;&+ assignment, the :, sends the coding formats allocated 'hen a user opens an
account to the ;,: &M; has up to nine possible rates
In I--P version 2, <ua'ei ;,: does not support all transmission formats, reserving
only rates 6+; and M+;, 'hich are generally 200 Kbps and 5B4 Kbps In this case,
&M;: cannot be implemented
<ua'ei I--P version 0 supports all transmission formats
&fter I--P version 0 is opened, up to nine ;8:Is can be sent by the ;,: :ertain
Samsung mobile phones that use earlier versions of "ualcomm chips do not support
blind detection of transmission formats 'hen more than three &M; rates are sent, and
therefore cause call drops
=or(around* 9isable the algorithm for blind detection of transmission formats
S!T -:O;;M&$6OS=IT:<* :hS'itchD :86#9$#+$I,9#9!T!:TIO,#S=IT:<)1E
&ccording to theoretical estimate, the gain of blind detection is 17 d+, corresponding to
a BF increase of capacity 9isabling blind detection reduces the capacity of air
interfaces
! compatibility issues may cause call drops.
=hen the Tr8O function is enabled, throughout the speech call, speech data coded
through compression is not encoded or decoded, but transmitted in a transparent mode
from the calling party to the access net'or(, to the core net'or(, then to the peer core
net'or(, and bac( to the access net'or(
In this case, in the process of setting up I--P for the first time on the core net'or(, the
set of rates supported by the remote core net'or( is not (no'n &fter negotiation, the
remote core net'or( does not support the rate set and requires the local core net'or( to
re)negotiate
Therefore, the core net'or( initiates re)negotiation of I--P by another ;&+ assignment
The ;,: side finds that the first I--P negotiation is not completed ?Processing of the
;&+ assignment process is not reasonable at the ;,: side to a certain e%tent In the
process of setting up the ;&+ signaling, ;,: does not 'ait for initialization of I--P
users That is, I--P initialization may ta(e a long time and the signaling of ;&+ is
already completedA, and initiates I--P reconfig In the process of reconfig, ho'ever, the
status of I--P needs to be chec(ed The I--P status is found incorrect and a failure is
returned to $7, causing call drop
A'(/
(ecommendation !evel
$o'
This function brings small gains and big compatibility ris(s
Principle
&daptive multi rate control ?&M;:A can control eight types of voice services through
;,:, namely 200 (bitCs, 210 (bitCs, B@4 (bitCs, B5 (bitCs, /B (bitCs, 4@ (bitCs, 424
(bitCs, and 5B4 (bitCs as 'ell as =&M; //1 (bitCs, ..4 (bitCs, 20/4 (bitCs, 24.4 (bitCs,
and 07.4 (bitCs This feature can improve speech quality, e%pand uplin( coverage, and
reduce system load level
+efore ;&,41, the do'nlin( transmit po'er and uplin( -! transmit po'er are
considered in &M; ad3ustment If the transmit po'er e%ceeds the threshold, the lin(
quality is poor
In ;&,42, cell load is used for triggering &M;: ;,: continuously monitors cell load in
dynamic mode and ad3usts user speech code rate according to load changes =hen the
load is heavy, the lo' rate of &M; speech :O9!: is used for reducing cell load =hen
the load is light, the high rate of &M; speech :O9!: is used for providing higher quality
speech
&M;:)is an operation item in the process of load reshuffling =hen the do'nlin(
common measurement ?T:PA and the uplin( common measurement ?;T=PA of ,ode+
e%ceed the threshold of $9;, $9; is triggered $9; is a 'ay of controlling congestion
Then, the system enters the basic congestion status &fter $9; is triggered, &M;: can
be used for reducing system load The ;,: selects candidate &M; users on the basis
of &;P and current user rate -sers 'ith lo' &;P are first selected for rate ad3ustment
If &;Ps are the same, users 'ith high speech rate are selected first
&fter the user speech rate is degraded, the rate is improved by using the do'nlin(
transmit po'er and -! uplin( transmit po'er The mechanism is the same as that used
in ;&,41
-ains
Experiment 1a - Test Results
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
Condi ti ons
MOS
EFR
12.2
10.2
7.95
7.4
6.7
5.9
5.15
4.75
EFR 4.01 4.01 3.65 3.05 1.53
12.2 4.01 4.06 4.13 3.93 3.44 1.46
10.2 4.06 3.96 4.05 3.80 2.04
7.95 3.91 4.01 4.08 3.96 3.26 1.43
7.4 3.83 3.94 3.98 3.84 3.11 1.39
6.7 3.77 3.80 3.86 3.29 1.87
5.9 3.72 3.69 3.59 2.20
5.15 3.50 3.58 3.44 2.43
4.75 3.50 3.52 3.43 2.66
No Errors C/I=16 dB C/I=13 dB C/I=10 dB C/I= 7 dB C/I= 4 dB C/I= 1 dB
$o' rate can ensure better speech quality in areas 'ith poor coverage On most sites,
ho'ever, only a small proportion of areas 'ith poor coverage can ma(e gains
&eployment
The s'itch needs to be turned on and the license needs to be obtained
S'itch* S!T -:O;;M&$6OS=IT:<* :sS'itchD:S#&M;:#S=IT:<)2E
$icense* serial number of the feature* =;89)101B12
&vailability* This feature is first introduced since version ;&,01 and is a 76PP ;@@
feature
(is.s and /autions
:ompatibility problems may occur 'hen this function is integrated 'ith the core net'or(
or ;&, of other companies Service may not be set up, calls may be dropped, and one
'ay audio may occur
:urrently, users are not recommended to turn on this s'itch &ccording to information
obtained, other vendors do not turn on this s'itch either
Formulating 0ptimi4ation Solution
6enerally, <ua'ei lac(s e%perience in this aspect and not many features are available in
the current version
Feature optimi4ation
In -!0-! scenarios, speech quality can be improved through the T8OCTr8O feature It
is not effective for -!0PST,
8or areas 'ith poor coverage, the &M;: feature can be used for improving the speech
quality <o'ever, not much commercial use e%perience is accumulated about this
feature
Parameter 0ptimi4ation
8or net'or(s 'ith a small number of users, po'er control parameters of the outer ringlet
of voice services can be modified That is, sacrifice the capacity for quality improvement
9iscuss the specific modified values of parameters 'ith ;G9 and ma(e comprehensive
evaluation
"he follo#ing four methods are common methods for optimi$ing MOS:
ncrease the ma;imum do"nlink transmit po"er !y ' dH for $&.& @ =S services0
MFD ?=ELLRL3ER0 =:DomaindI=SBDFM8:, Ma;HitRateI$&&%%,
RlMa;Dl3"rI'%
.he !enefit of the method is that it increase MFS scores !y decreasing
do"nlink HLERs in poor coverage areas.
.he disadvantage is that it increases the do"nlink transmit po"er, "hich
"orsens congestion in some congested cells and increases Ec5:o.
ncrease the minimum do"nlink transmit po"er !y ' dH for $&.& @ =S services0
MFD ?=ELLRL3ER0 =:DomaindI=SBDFM8:, Ma;HitRateI$&&%%,
RlMinDl3"rI/$&%
.he !enefit of this method is that it increases average MFS scores !y
decreasing the do"nlink HLERs in areas "ith good coverage.
.he disadvantage is that it increases the do"nlink transmit po"er, "hich
"orsens congestion in some congested cells and increases Ec5:o.
ncrease the minimum value of SR target0
MFD ?.J3R8HFL3=0 R8H:DEDI%, S?H6LFE:DEDI%,
.R=9.J3EI.R=9BD=9, DEL8J=L8SSI$, M:SR.8RAE.I,&,
('56S5(%A(-E% is an internal parameter. Enter it in the command !o;
and run it.)
.he !enefit of this method is that it restrains HLERs "hen signals are strong
and it !rings lo" risk. 9o"ever, it only applies to uplink outer loop po"er
controls and effects are insignificant.
ncrease HLER values !ased on o!Kectives0
MFD ?.J3R8HFL3=0 R8H:DEDI%, S?H6LFE:DEDI%,
.R=9.J3EI.R=9BD=9, DEL8J=L8SSI$, HLER4?8L.JI/'%,
SR8DL?S.S.E3I$
8dKusting HLER4?8L.J can greatly restrain HLERs to increase MFS
scores, !ut you need to adKust S?R adKustment steps synchronously. .his
method significantly increases uplink and do"nlink transmit po"er and
causes congestion. E;ercise caution "hen adKusting this parameter.
:&S!*
9ue to contractual cluster signed off bet'een hua'ei and HHH operator of MOSD7B,
but drive test result not more than 74 found so could not submit to report customer for
acceptance
Summary of ssu!"
M Contractual signed off between huawei and XXX operator for MOS=3.7 but
after cluster drive test result of MOS found=3.45
#r$! %!s% &'I of ()us%!r"
*+S ',+-"
-o .!% %ar.!% $a)u! of *+S ! 3.7/ 0! 1a$! do2!"
C1!(3!d ()us%!r aud% 4ro4!r)y/ 2o mor! o5s%ru(%o2 fou2d
C1!(3!d NBR of 01o)! ()us%!r
No ma6or a)ram fou2d 2 s%!
No ssu! of R-7'
No ssu! of B,ER
8)) &'I fou2d 2orma).
Parameter 0ptimi4ation
R:= LM.
=ommand0 SE. ?=FRRM8LAFSE.=9
3arameter0 ??3B1&BS3.BSE.=9. 1alue $ indicates that the s"itch is on. 1alue % indicates that
the s"itch is off.
SE-9C+RR*8,:+S7I-C;"CsS0%(1=CS<I99'<=2<S9''+R-<S7I-C;>1?
8f%!r m4)!m!2%ao2 of -RF+/ dr$! %!s% of ()us%!r 1as do2!"
(e"erence 5n"ormation
Tool Guide
Probe 7ser -uide
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