Scheduling Policy and Quality of Service Through the Presence Access Layer

1 . A method for specifying a level of Quality of Service (QoS) for a transmission of presence information to a watcher, comprising:

a Presence Access Layer (PAL) enabling the level of QoS for the transmission;

and

the PAL providing the presence information to the watcher using the specified level of QoS.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the PAL specifies the level of QoS as a result of one of:

the watcher sending the PAL a message specifying a desired level of QoS for the transmission; and

the PAL assigning the level of QoS based on information associated with the watcher.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the PAL sends the presence information on a route with a higher level of QoS.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the PAL moves the presence information higher in a queue.

5 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising storing the message for future use.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the level of QoS is applied to one of:

a single application;

a plurality of applications; and

a data element of an application.

7 . A user agent (UA), comprising:

a processor configured to send a Presence Access Layer (PAL) a message enabling a desired level of Quality Of Service (QoS) for a transmission of presence information, the PAL providing the presence information to a watcher using the specified level of QoS.

8 . The UA of claim 7 , wherein the PAL sends the presence information on a route with a higher level of QoS.

9 . The UA of claim 7 , wherein the PAL moves the presence information higher in a queue.

10 . The UA of claim 7 , further comprising storing the message for future use.

11 . The UA of claim 7 , wherein the level of QoS is applied to one of:

a single application;

a plurality of applications; and

a data element of an application.