Implementation of Hybrid QoS-Aware Data Radio Bearer in 5G Networks

Abstract

In Fifth-Generation (5G) wireless networks, Quality of Service (QoS) flow management supports diverse applications with heterogeneous QoS requirements, including latency-sensitive and high-throughput services. 5G architectures adopt a flow based QoS framework, where QoS flows are mapped to Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) to achieve the desired radio resource allocation. Existing mapping strategies typically rely on static one-to-one QoS-to-DRB mappings per PDU session, leading to inefficient spectrum utilization or inadequate support for delay sensitive traffic. This work presents a hybrid QoS-aware DRB mapping mechanism based on standardized 5G QoS Identifier (5QI) characteristics. The proposed framework incorporates multiple QoS flows within a single PDU session, supporting both many-to-one and one-to-one mapping strategies. The hybrid framework improves radio resource utilization and reduced bearer overhead by enabling flexible DRB utilization, where compatible non critical flows share DRBs while delay-critical flows are assigned dedicated DRBs to ensure strict QoS guarantees. The proposed hybrid QoS-aware DRB mapping is implemented using the open-source OpenAirInterface (OAI) mobile stack platform to demonstrate the integration of the proposed features within the existing 5G framework.