QoS verification and throughput measurement for minimization of drive test

1. A method, comprising:

establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection by a base station with a user equipment (UE) in a mobile communication network;

measuring transmitted or received data volume during a transmission time of a data burst between the base station and the UE, wherein the data burst spans multiple measurement periods and the data burst is split at each measurement period boundary, and wherein each measurement period is associated with a measurement result; and

forwarding measurements and logging information by the base station to a target base station at handover preparation, wherein the measurements are continued at connection interruptions.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each measurement period is either triggered periodically or triggered based on a radio condition change, a link adaptation change, or a mobility event.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the base station requests, receives and logs location information that is available during the transmission time of the data burst when data is being transmitted, buffered for transmission, being received, or until the base-station receives an end-marker from the UE.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the base station provides an end-marker to the UE together with a last piece of data in the downlink data burst.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the base station receives an explicit end-marker together with a last piece of data in the uplink data burst.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data volume measurement is logged with time stamp such that each measurement result is correlated with location information.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the base station receives an estimated interruption time, wherein the interruption time is applicable to a handover, a RRC connection re-establishment, or a Non Access Stratum (NAS) triggered connection establishment after a connection failure.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data volume includes radio layer 2 overhead including Medium Access Control, Radio Link Control, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer overhead.

9. A method, comprising:

establishing an radio resource control (RRC) connection by a user equipment (UE) with a base station in a mobile communication network;

measuring transmitted or received data volume during a transmission time for a data burst between the base station and the UE, wherein the data burst spans one or more measurement periods and the data burst is split at each measurement period boundary, and wherein each measurement period is associated with a measurement result; and

transmitting an estimated interruption time to the base station, wherein the interruption time is applicable to a handover, a RRC connection re-establishment, or a Non Access Stratum (NAS) triggered connection establishment after a connection failure.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein each measurement period is either triggered periodically or triggered based on a radio condition change, a link adaptation change, or a mobility event.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the UE requests, receives and logs location information that is available during the transmission time of the data burst when data is being transmitted, buffered for transmission, being received, or until the UE receives an end-marker from the base station.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the UE provides an end-marker to the base station together with a last piece of data in the downlink data burst.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the UE receives an explicit end-marker together with a last piece of data in the uplink data burst.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the data volume measurement is logged with time stamp such that each measurement result is correlated with location information.

15. A user equipment (UE), comprising:

memory that contains a set of program instructions;

a radio frequency (RF) transceiver that transmits and receives radio signals; and

a processor that executes the set of program instructions in accordance with the radio signals and thereby controls the UE to perform the steps of:

establishing a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a base station in a mobile communication network;

measuring transmitted or received data volume during a transmission time for a data burst between the base station and the UE,

wherein the data burst spans one or more measurement periods and the data burst is split at each measurement period boundary, and wherein each measurement period is associated with a measurement result; and

transmitting an estimated interruption time to the base station,

wherein the interruption time is applicable to a handover, a RRC connection re-establishment, or a Non Access Stratum (NAS) triggered connection establishment after a connection failure.

16. The UE of claim 15 , wherein each measurement period is either triggered periodically or triggered based on a radio condition change, a link adaptation change, or a mobility event.

17. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the UE requests, receives and logs location information that is available during the transmission time of the data burst when data is being transmitted, buffered for transmission, being received, or until the UE receives an end-marker from the base station.

18. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the UE provides an end-marker to the base station together with a last piece of data in the downlink data burst.

19. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the UE receives an explicit end-marker together with a last piece of data in the uplink data burst.

20. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the data volume measurement is logged with time stamp such that each measurement result is correlated with location information.