Feasibility of 3G and Mobile Broadcasting
Networks for Mass Multimedia Services
Anssi Korkeakoski
Supervisor: prof. Sven-Gustav Häggman
Instructors: M.Sc. Niina Laaksonen, Lic.Tech. Jyrki Penttinen
July 24, 2016
Contents
• Background
• Objectives & Methodology
• Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service
• Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld
• Evaluation & Conclusions
July 24, 2016
2
Background
• As the number of simultaneous users increases within the service area,
efficient delivery of content becomes more and more crucial
• Therefore, broadcasting should be favoured to transmit mass services for
large audiences in order to decrease the delivery costs per user
• Different mobile broadcast systems have been designed but this thesis
focuses on two solutions with different backgrounds: MBMS (Multimedia
Broadcast/Multicast Service) and DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast –
Handheld)
Unicast
July 24, 2016
Broadcast
3
Objectives & Methodology
• Objectives:
– Introduce MBMS and DVB-H
– Study and compare the main technical constraints of the radio
interface of these systems
– Evaluate the effect of these constraints on the feasible service
portfolio as well as user environment
– Sketch example user scenarios
• Methodology:
– Literary study based on 3GPP and ETSI specifications, conference
papers and research articles
– Author’s own experience from DVB-H networks also utilized
July 24, 2016
4
MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service)
• Specification work of MBMS (Rel 6) in 3GPP is partly unfinished at the
moment
• MBMS is designed for both GSM/EDGE and UMTS Terrestrial Radio
Access Networks (GERAN/UTRAN)
– This thesis focuses on UTRAN
• Two modes: Broadcast mode and multicast mode
• In multicast mode, either DCH or FACH channel used depending on the
number of MBMS users within the cell
• MBMS provides bidirectional p-t-p correction of erroneous data after the
broadcast session
– Only for services with no strict delay requirements, such as file
downloading
July 24, 2016
5
MBMS architecture
Other networks
e.g. Internet
Content
Provider
CBC
OSA
SCS
Uu
UTRAN
Iu
Gn/Gp
SGSN
Um
GERAN Iu/Gb
Gmb
GGSN
Gr
BM-SC
Content
Provider
Gi
HLR
• Broadcast Multicast Service Centre (BM-SC) is a new network element
• Enhancements to SGSN, GGSN, UTRAN and UE
– More or less a vendor-specific issue
July 24, 2016
6
Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld
• Specification work of DVB-H is finished in ETSI
• DVB-H is based on DVB-T(errestrial), but supports handheld portable and
mobile reception
• The main additional features of DVB-H:
– Time slicing technique to achieve better battery saving percentage
– MPE-FEC error correction mechanism for additional robustness and
mobility
– 4K-mode for mobility and radio network design flexibility
• Usually the content delivered in DVB-H network is associated only to
mobile TV, but basically also other services, such as file downloading, is
viable
July 24, 2016
7
IP Datacasting
IPDC Network Operator
IPDC
Service
Operator
IPDC
Service
Platform
IP transmission
Mobile Network Operator
Interaction
in
Uplink
GSM/GPRS/
E-GPRS/UMTS
Network
Content
Provider
IPDC
Content
and
Services
Mobile
Service
Provider
GSM/GPRS/
E-GPRS/
UMTS
Service
Platform
IPDC = IP Datacasting
July 24, 2016
8
Feasible data rates in MBMS and DVB-H
• Base station output power consumption limits the bit rates per service in
MBMS
– According to simulations, e.g. in pedestrian environment, at least 15
% fractional BS power (Ec/Ior) required for a 64 kbit/s bearer (1%
BLER target, –3 dB geometry)
– Lower MBMS performance can be expected in macrocellular WCDMA
networks due to lower geometry factor values at the cell edge
• In DVB-H, the overall maximum throughput per carrier is max. ~15 Mbit/s
in mobile environment, which is further allocated to different services
– In practice, the battery saving target limits the maximum feasible bit
rate per service
July 24, 2016
9
Error correction mechanisms
• The implementation of FEC (Forward Error Correction) in MBMS is not yet
standardized in 3GPP
• DVB-H utilizes FEC in two layers
– Code rates: 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8
• Optional back-up error correction mechanism is implemented in MBMS
via unicast links for file delivery services
– In theory, this solution is scalable only if the repair requests are
spread in time and across multiple servers
– Similar mechanism has not been decided – at least yet – to
implement in DVB-H
July 24, 2016
10
User environment
• E.g. in Finland, UTRAN has been built so far only to largest cities
– MBMS could also utilize the vast coverage of GERAN
• In the end, the quality and coverage area of the networks for MBMS and
DVB-H services depends on the network operator itself
– Economic realities guide the decisions more than technical aspects
• Both MBMS and DVB-H support mobility well, but handovers must be
performed more often on average in UMTS network
– The max. distance between two main transmitters within a SFN
(Single Frequency Network) cell can be even 67 km depending on the
network parameters
July 24, 2016
11
Other aspects
• MBMS can utilize the existing GERAN/UTRAN networks (+frequencies)
• Most likely a dedicated DVB-H network must be built
– It is possible to use the existing DVB-T networks for DVB-H services,
but problems might be encountered in indoor coverage, mobility,
capacity etc.
– New DVB-H infrastructure and frequency licences increase
expenditures!
• Status of the specification work and technology maturity
July 24, 2016
12
Conclusions and future work
• DVB-H has better capabilities to provide more versatile service portfolio
– The employment of a dedicated MBMS carrier should be considered
based on traffic statistics and service needs
• Due to utilization of mobile cellular network, local and interactive services
with shorter response time are more suitable for MBMS
• MBMS should not be rolled out until the UMTS customer penetration is
dense enough
• Future work:
– Studies of other mobile broadcasting systems
– UMTS radio network measurements (e.g. cumulative distribution
function of the geometry factor in real network) in order to better
evaluate the MBMS capacity
July 24, 2016
13
The Nordic and Baltic
telecommunications leader
July 24, 2016