A system and method for controlling Quality of Service (QoS) in a wireless network on a per-user basis. According to the preferred embodiment, each user will have a QoS profile, listing the levels of service he is authorized to receive. The RAN assigns radio and network resources for the user, based on the applications that the user is running and the user's profile. A QoS server in the base station controller manages user QoS. When the base station controller receives a packet data call from a mobile station, the QoS profile and the application type that the mobile station is executing will be used to determine QoS parameters for the user's call.