Beyond KPIs: The Role of Key Value Indicators (KVIs) in 6G

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have long been the primary benchmarks for evaluating mobile network performance. However, as 6G moves towards a broader societal and environmental impact, the European Hexa-X-II project and its partners advocate for integrating Key Values (KVs) and Key Value Indicators (KVIs) into network design and evaluation.

On 18 December 2024, Hexa-X-II hosted an insightful webinar to highlight the significance of KVIs in shaping the future of 6G. The session underscored how KVIs can complement KPIs by assessing technology’s impact on sustainability, digital inclusion, trust, and ethical considerations. 

While the video hasn't been shared, you can download the slides from here.

Why KVIs Matter in 6G Development

Traditionally, mobile network development has been driven by KPIs—throughput, latency, reliability, and spectrum efficiency. However, as 6G aims to support broader global goals such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a shift towards value-based design is necessary. Hexa-X-II proposes a structured methodology where:

• Human and Planetary Goals are identified (e.g., sustainability, digital inclusion, trust).
• Key Values (KVs) are derived from these goals to reflect technology’s intended benefits and potential risks.
• Key Value Indicators (KVIs) provide qualitative or quantitative measures to assess whether these values are met.

From Theory to Application: The Hexa-X-II Process

One of the core challenges in applying KVIs is the interdisciplinary nature of the assessment. Unlike KPIs, which are primarily technical, KVIs require social, economic, and environmental considerations. The Hexa-X-II approach includes:

• Defining Use Case KVIs, which assess the impact of a specific application.
• Defining Enabler KVIs, which measure how well a technical enabler (e.g., AI, NTN, RIS) contributes to key values.
• Mapping KVIs to existing KPIs where possible and identifying gaps where new indicators are needed.
• Iteratively refining KVIs based on real-world evaluations.

A Case Study: Cooperating Mobile Robots

One example discussed in the webinar was the use of cooperating mobile robots, a use case that benefits from 6G-enabled ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). While KPIs can measure performance (e.g., latency, reliability), KVIs help evaluate the broader impact, such as:

• Environmental KVIs: Energy efficiency, material usage, electronic waste reduction.
• Social KVIs: Job displacement vs. job creation, worker safety, accessibility.
• Economic KVIs: Business viability, affordability, and risk of monopolisation.

By systematically assessing these factors, the Hexa-X-II framework ensures that 6G technology is not just high-performing but also aligned with societal needs.

Lessons Learned and Future Outlook

The adoption of KVIs presents several challenges, including subjective assessments, measurement difficulties, and the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration. However, Hexa-X-II emphasises that:

• Technology impact should be continuously monitored using KVIs.
• Qualitative and quantitative assessments must be combined, rather than relying solely on measurable KPIs.
• A system-level approach is required, integrating perspectives from sustainability, business, and social sciences.

As 6G research advances, KVIs will play a crucial role in ensuring that next-generation networks contribute meaningfully to global sustainability and inclusivity. The Hexa-X-II initiative provides a foundational methodology for integrating values into the traditionally KPI-driven telecom landscape — an approach that could redefine how we measure success in the 6G era.

Related Posts: 

• Free 6G Training: Orange's Vision of Sustainability-focused Mobile Technologies for 2030 and Beyond
• Free 6G Training: Summary of 3GPP Stage-1 Workshop on IMT2030 Use Cases 

Quick Summary of LTE Voice Summit 2015 (#LTEVoice)

Last year's summary of the LTE voice summit was very much appreciated so I have created one this year too.

The status of VoLTE can be very well summarised as can be seen in the image above.

‘VoLTE network deployment is the one of the most difficult project ever, the implementation complexity and workload is unparalleled in history’ - China Mobile group vice-president Mr.Liu Aili

Surprisingly, not many presentations were shared so I have gone back to the tweets and the pictures I took to compile this report. You may want to download the PDF from slideshare to be able to see the links. Hope you find it useful.

Related links:

• VoLTE Roaming with RAVEL (Roaming Architecture for Voice over IMS with Local Breakout)
• S8HR: Standardization of New VoLTE Roaming Architecture
• VoLTE Roaming: LBO, S8HR or HBO

LTE KPI's (Key Performance Indicators)

Key Performance Indicators of KPI's are indicators for if a device or equipment meets a certain reliability criteria for being ready for deployment.

In [1] the following KPI's are defined

• Accessibility
• Retainability
• Integrity
• Availability
• Mobility

[2] gives the requirements related to the above KPI's. Take for instance Accessibility, [2] defines the requirements as follows:

Business level requirements: If an end user cannot access a service it is hard to charge for the service. Also, if it happens often that an end-user cannot access the provided service, the end-user might change wireless subscription provider, i.e. loss of income for the network operator. Hence, to have a good accessibility of the services is important from a business point of view. This measurement assists the network operator with information about the accessibility provided to their customers.

Specification level requirements: The accessibility of an end-user application covers a wider area than just the E-UTRAN part. Hence it is important to realize that a KPI for this in E-UTRAN shall be limited to the parts that E-UTRAN has control of, i.e. the E-UTRAN KPI shall be defined so that it indicates the E-UTRAN contribution to the end-user impact, NOT attempt to take responsibility of the whole end-to-end part of service accessibility.

The service provided by E-UTRAN for this KPI shall be E-RAB. It shall be possible to measure the accessibility of E-RABs in E-UTRAN. Accessibility measurement should be available as a success rate for the attempts. 

As for defining an attempt, it shall be considered an attempt first when the eNodeB can be certain that is a request for an E-RAB. As for defining a success, it shall be considered a success when the eNodeB have completed its task to setup resources and the result of the E-RAB establishment can be informed to the requester of the E-RAB. The KPI shall be available per QoS group.

Use case description: In providing end-user services to wireless end-users, the first step is to get access to the wireless service. First after access to the service has been performed, the service can be used. If an accessibility measurement is not considered OK, then the network operator can investigate which steps that are required to improve the accessibility towards their customers. This measurement should be used for observing the impact of E-UTRAN on end-users service accessibility.

From the above, we can create certain tests to test the Accessibility KPI. Example cases as follows:

1. RRC Connection Setup for Registration success rates

2. RRC Connection Setup for Services success rates

3. Initial E-RAB Setup Success rates

4. Successive E-RAB Setup Success rates

5. Call (VoIP) setup success rates

[1] 3GPP TS 32.450: Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN): Definitions

[2] 3GPP TS 32.451: Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Requirements

More example of KPI's is available from this document:

Summary of QoS Requirements from Zahid Ghadialy