Performance Analysis of VoIP over Mobile WiMAX Networks

Abstract

Due to its large coverage area, low cost of deployment and high speed data rates, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access or WiMAX is a promising technology for providing wireless last-mile connectivity. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is one of the rapidly growing technologies and is expected to replace the conventional circuit switched voice services. VoIP is also considered one of the killer applications for WiMAX which requires careful design of QoS configurations. The main aim of this research is to study and analyze the performance of VoIP on mobile WiMAX networks. This has been done through the study and analysis of several aspects related to the WiMAX network and VoIP configurations such as: WiMAX service classes, mobility, number of nodes and VoIP Codecs. The investigated parameters include: throughput, mean opinion score (MOS), jitter and delay. The results were obtained through the design and simulation of different WiMAX network scenarios using OPNET Modeler. Results showed that UGS service class has the best performance parameters serving VoIP. It is also observed that the G.723.1 codec has lower delay and higher MOS meanwhile sustaining minimal bandwidth consumption.