QCI / 5QI Bearer Quality Map
3GPP standardised bearer quality identifiers for LTE (QCI) and 5G NR (5QI). Search by number or use case, or filter by resource type.
| QCI | 5QI | Resource | Priority | PDB (ms) | PER | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | GBR | 20 | 100 | 10⁻² | Conversational Voice (VoLTE, VoNR) |
| 2 | 2 | GBR | 40 | 150 | 10⁻³ | Conversational Video (live streaming) |
| 3 | 3 | GBR | 30 | 50 | 10⁻³ | Real-time gaming |
| 4 | 4 | GBR | 50 | 300 | 10⁻⁶ | Non-conversational video (buffered) |
| 5 | 5 | Non-GBR | 10 | 100 | 10⁻⁶ | IMS signalling |
| 6 | 6 | Non-GBR | 60 | 300 | 10⁻⁶ | Video (TCP), www, email, FTP |
| 7 | 7 | Non-GBR | 70 | 100 | 10⁻³ | Voice, interactive video, gaming |
| 8 | 8 | Non-GBR | 80 | 300 | 10⁻⁶ | Video (TCP), www, email (elevated) |
| 9 | 9 | Non-GBR | 90 | 300 | 10⁻⁶ | Default bearer / Internet |
| — | 655G | GBR | 7 | 75 | 10⁻² | Mission-Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) Voice |
| — | 665G | GBR | 20 | 100 | 10⁻² | Non-Mission-Critical Video |
| — | 675G | GBR | 15 | 100 | 10⁻³ | Mission-Critical Video |
| — | 695G | GBR | 5 | 60 | 10⁻⁶ | Mission-Critical signalling (MCPTT, MC data) |
| — | 705G | GBR | 55 | 200 | 10⁻⁶ | Mission-Critical Data |
| — | 755G | GBR | 25 | 50 | 10⁻² | V2X messages (TS 22.185) |
| — | 795G | GBR | 65 | 50 | 10⁻² | V2X — NR sidelink |
| — | 805G | GBR | 68 | 10 | 10⁻⁶ | Low-latency eMBB (AR/VR cloud rendering) |
| — | 825G | DC-GBR | 19 | 10 | 10⁻⁴ | Discrete Automation (IEC 61784) |
| — | 835G | DC-GBR | 22 | 10 | 10⁻⁴ | Discrete Automation — critical |
| — | 845G | DC-GBR | 24 | 30 | 10⁻⁵ | Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) |
| — | 855G | DC-GBR | 21 | 5 | 10⁻⁵ | Electricity distribution — high voltage |
| — | 865G | DC-GBR | 18 | 5 | 10⁻⁴ | V2X (TS 22.186) — advanced driving |
| — | 875G | DC-GBR | 25 | 5 | 10⁻³ | Interactive service — motion control |
| — | 885G | DC-GBR | 10 | 10 | 10⁻⁶ | Visual content — cloud / edge gaming |
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QCI and 5QI Reference
QCI (QoS Class Identifier) was introduced in 3GPP Release 8 as part of LTE (4G). It is a single numeric label that encodes the QoS profile for an EPS bearer. Each standardised QCI maps to a fixed combination of resource type, scheduling priority, packet delay budget (PDB), and packet error rate (PER). The QCI is carried in S1-MME, S11, and S5/S8 GTP-C signalling and is used by the eNB, P-GW, and S-GW to apply consistent traffic treatment across the end-to-end bearer.
5QI (5G QoS Identifier) serves the same purpose in 5G NR (New Radio), defined in 3GPP TS 23.501. 5QI values 1–9 are backward-compatible with QCI 1–9 and carry identical QoS characteristics. 5G extends the table with values in the 65–88 range to support mission-critical communications, vehicular (V2X) services, and industrial IoT scenarios. The 5QI is exchanged over the N11 (AMF–SMF), N4 (SMF–UPF), and N2 (AMF–gNB) interfaces.
Resource Types
| Type | Generation | Description | Typical PDB |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBR | 4G + 5G | Guaranteed Bit Rate — dedicated bandwidth reservation; eNB/gNB must maintain rate under congestion | 50–300 ms |
| Non-GBR | 4G + 5G | Best-effort; shares capacity with other Non-GBR bearers, may be deprioritised under load | 100–300 ms |
| DC-GBR | 5G only | Delay-Critical GBR — guaranteed rate and ultra-low latency; introduced in 3GPP Release 15 for URLLC | 5–30 ms |
Operator-specific ranges
Values QCI 128–254 and 5QI 128–254 are reserved for operator-defined use and are not standardised by 3GPP. Their QoS characteristics (resource type, PDB, PER, priority) are agreed bilaterally between the operator and their RAN/core vendors. These values are also used in roaming agreements where a visited network must honour the home network's custom QCI/5QI mapping. Values QCI 10–127 and 5QI 10–64 / 89–127 / 255 are reserved for future standardisation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is QCI and how is it used in LTE?▾
QCI (QoS Class Identifier) is a scalar value used in LTE (4G) to specify the QoS characteristics of a bearer — including its resource type (GBR or Non-GBR), packet delay budget, packet error rate, and priority. 3GPP TS 23.203 defines standardised QCI values 1–9, with QCI 1 reserved for VoLTE and QCI 9 used for the default internet bearer. Operator-specific QCI values 128–254 are also permitted. The eNB, P-GW, and S-GW all use the QCI to apply correct scheduling, queuing, and traffic shaping.
What is 5QI and how does it relate to QCI?▾
5QI (5G QoS Identifier) is the 5G NR equivalent of QCI, defined in 3GPP TS 23.501. 5QI values 1–9 map directly to QCI values 1–9 with identical QoS characteristics, making LTE-to-5G bearer migration straightforward. 5G adds additional 5QI values (65–88) for use cases not covered by LTE: Mission-Critical PTT, V2X, industrial automation, and Delay-Critical GBR (DC-GBR) — a new resource type in 5G for ultra-low-latency applications below 10 ms PDB.
What is the difference between GBR and Non-GBR bearers?▾
GBR (Guaranteed Bit Rate) bearers have a reserved bandwidth allocation guaranteed by the network — the eNB/gNB must maintain this rate even under congestion. They are used for latency-sensitive services like VoLTE. Non-GBR bearers share available capacity on a best-effort basis and may be deprioritised under load. DC-GBR (Delay-Critical GBR) is a 5G-specific resource type for services requiring both a guaranteed rate and extremely low latency (≤10 ms PDB), such as industrial automation and motion control.
Where does QCI/5QI appear in network configuration?▾
QCI/5QI values appear in: P-GW/UPF bearer configuration, eNB/gNB QoS policy tables, PCF/PCRF policy rules, HSS/UDM subscriber profiles, and PCAP/log traces of GTP-U tunnels. When migrating from LTE to 5G SA, the SMF maps incoming PDU session requests to a 5QI based on the DNN and S-NSSAI. Engineers often need to verify QCI/5QI alignment between the RAN vendor, core vendor, and policy (PCF) configuration — this table is the authoritative reference.