5.7.3.3 Priority Level

The Priority Level associated with 5G QoS characteristics indicates a priority in scheduling resources among QoS Flows. The lowest Priority Level value corresponds to the highest priority.

The Priority Level shall be used to differentiate between QoS Flows of the same UE and it shall also be used to differentiate between QoS Flows from different UEs.

In the case of congestion, when all QoS requirements cannot be fulfilled for one or more QoS Flows, the Priority Level shall be used to select for which QoS Flows the QoS requirements are prioritised such that a QoS Flow with Priority Level value N is priorized over QoS Flows with higher Priority Level values (i.e. N+1, N+2, etc).In the case of no congestion, the Priority Level should be used to define the resource distribution between QoS Flows. In addition, the scheduler may prioritize QoS Flows based on other parameters (e.g. resource type, radio condition) in order to optimize application performance and network capacity.

Every standardized 5QI is associated with a default value for the Priority Level -specified in QoS characteristics Table 5.7.4.1). Priority Level may also be signalled together with a standardized 5QI to the -R)AN and if it is received, it shall be used instead of the default value.

Priority Level may also be signalled together with a pre-configured 5QI to the (R)AN and if it is received, it shall be used instead of the pre-configured value.