TY - JOUR T1 - Modulation and coding scheme selection in multimedia broadcast over a single frequency network-enabled long-term evolution networks JF - International Journal of Communication Systems, Wiley InterScience Y1 - 2013 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Antonios Alexiou A1 - Andreas Papazois A1 - Vasileios Kokkinos A1 - George Tsichritzis KW - LTE KW - MBSFN KW - MCS AB -

Long term evolution constitutes the next generation cellular network beyond 3G that is designed to support the explosion in demand for bandwidth-hungry multimedia services in wireless networks by providing an extremely high performance radio access technology. To support multimedia broadcast/multicast services (MBMS), long term evolution offers the functionality to transmit MBMS over a single frequency network, where a time-synchronized common waveform is transmitted from multiple cells for a given duration. This enables over-the-air combining, thus significantly improving the spectral efficiency (SE) compared with conventional MBMS operations. In MBMS over a single frequency network transmissions, the achieved SE is mainly determined by the modulation and coding scheme selected. This study proposes and evaluates four approaches for the selection of the modulation and coding scheme. Each approach corresponds to different users? distribution and multimedia traffic conditions. On the basis of SE measurements, we determine the approach that either maximizes or achieves a target SE for the corresponding users? distribution and traffic conditions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

VL - 25 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Cost Optimization of MBSFN and PTM Transmissions for Reliable Multicasting in LTE Networks JF - Wireless Networks, Springer Verlang Y1 - 2012 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Antonios Alexiou A1 - Andreas Papazois A1 - Vasileios Kokkinos A1 - Konstantinos Asimakis A1 - Georgia Tseliou KW - Cost analysis KW - LTE KW - MBSFN AB - Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems have been specified and designed to accommodate small, high performance, power-efficient, end-user devices. The evolved Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (e-MBMS) feature is introduced by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as a complement to the existing MBMS service in order to accommodate multicast groups that are interested in receiving the same data. MBMS service is provided by MBMS over a Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) and/or Point-To-Multipoint (PTM) transmission methods. One of the challenges of MBMS is the complete error recovery of the transmitted files, a matter of great importance since the distribution of binary data must result in 100% error-free download. To fulfill this tight requirement, Forward Error Correction (FEC) mechanism has been proposed by 3GPP. In this work, we investigate the reliable multicasting by introducing a transmission method that combines the advantages of MBSFN and PTM transmission methods. We compare several FEC-based file recovery methods and evaluate them against various network parameters in a realistic simulation environment. The comparison is based on a cost-oriented analysis of MBMS service that takes into account the transmission cost over all the interfaces and nodes of the LTE architecture. The simulation results are performed with the aid of a new simulation tool and show that the performance of the file repair schemes depend on the network configuration. KEYWORDS: multimedia multicasting; cellular networks; forward error correction; reliability; single frequency network; optimization; point to multipoint; ER - TY - CONF T1 - Genetic Optimization for Spectral Efficient Multicasting in LTE Systems T2 - Fifth IFIP Wireless and Mobile Networking Conference, Bratislava, Slovakia Y1 - 2012 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Andreas Papazois A1 - Vasileios Kokkinos A1 - Konstantinos Asimakis KW - LTE KW - MBMS KW - MBSFN AB -

Past research has proposed the usage of assisting cells with Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) over a Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) to increase the Spectral Efficiency (SE) of LTE. In this paper we propose and investigate a method for optimizing the power consumption of the network while retaining an acceptable SE for most users. We design an algorithm that makes use of genetic optimization and analytical estimation of the SE. The algorithm is implemented in a novel simulation tool that allows experimentation over various user distributions and LTE deployments similar to the real-world ones. This simulation tool estimates the SE of each user and is able to optimize the network deployment by adjusting the individual transmission power levels for each cell.

JF - Fifth IFIP Wireless and Mobile Networking Conference, Bratislava, Slovakia ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Performance Evaluation of LTE for MBSFN Transmissions JF - Wireless Networks, Springer Verlang Y1 - 2012 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Antonios Alexiou A1 - Vasileios Kokkinos A1 - George Tsichritzis KW - LTE KW - MBSFN AB -

Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the most promised latest step towards the 4th generation (4G) of radio technologies designed to increase the capacity and speed of mobile communications with main target the support of the so-called “Mobile Broadband”. To support Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Services (MBMS), LTE offers the possibility to transmit Multimedia Broadcast multicast service over a Single Frequency Network (MBSFN), where a time-synchronized common waveform is transmitted from multiple cells for a given duration. In this manuscript we analytically present the MBSFN delivery method and evaluate its performance. The critical parameters of primary interest for the evaluation of the scheme are the packet delivery cost and its scalability. To this direction, a telecommunication cost analysis of the MBMS service is presented based on the transmission cost over the air interface, as well as the costs of all interfaces and nodes of the MBSFN architecture. Based on this cost analysis we determine the ideal number of cells that should participate in the MBSFN transmission in order to improve the overall MBSFN performance. Since the performance of the MBSFN scheme mainly depends on the configuration of the LTE network that is under investigation, we consider different network topologies, MBSFN deployments and user distributions.

VL - 18 ER - TY - CONF T1 - Combining MBSFN and PTM Transmissions Schemes for Resource Efficiency in LTE Networks T2 - 9th International Conference on Wired/Wireless Internet Communications, Vilanova I la Geltru, Barcelona, Spain, June 15 - 17, 2011 Y1 - 2011 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Antonios Alexiou A1 - Andreas Papazois A1 - Vasileios Kokkinos A1 - Konstantinos Asimakis KW - LTE KW - MBMS KW - MBSFN AB - Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems allow the transmission of rich multimedia services by utilizing the Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) over a Single Frequency Network (MBSFN). During MBSFN transmission a time-synchronized common waveform is transmitted from multiple cells. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has specified that Point-to-Multipoint (PTM) transmission can be used in combination with MBSFN to provide MBMS-based services. In this paper we evaluate the combined transmission scheme in terms of Resource Efficiency (RE). The evaluation is performed through simulation experiments for various user distributions and LTE network configurations. The experiments are conducted with the aid of a proposed algorithm, which estimates the Spectral Efficiency (SE) of each cell and the RE of the network, and is also able to formulate the optimal network deployment that maximizes the network?s RE. For each of the examined scenarios, we present the most efficient solution (in terms of RE) selected by our algorithm and we compare it with other transmission schemes. JF - 9th International Conference on Wired/Wireless Internet Communications, Vilanova I la Geltru, Barcelona, Spain, June 15 - 17, 2011 ER - TY - CONF T1 - Optimizing the Combination of MBSFN and PTM Transmissions in LTE Systems T2 - Tenth Annual Wireless Telecommunications Symposium (WTS 2011), New York, USA Y1 - 2011 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Antonios Alexiou A1 - Andreas Papazois A1 - Vasileios Kokkinos A1 - Georgia Tseliou KW - LTE KW - MBMS KW - MBSFN AB - The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has introduced the evolved Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (e-MBMS) feature for cellular systems as an evolution to the existing MBMS service. To support e-MBMS in Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 3GPP recommends the use of Point-to- Multipoint (PTM) transmissions and MBMS over a Single Frequency Network (MBSFN). MBSFN is a new feature where a time-synchronized common waveform is transmitted from multiple cells. In this paper we investigate the provision of MBMS service over a combination of MBSFN and PTM transmission methods. A cost analysis of the MBMS service is presented based on the transmission cost over all the interfaces and nodes of the LTE architecture. We evaluate the performance of this transmission scheme from telecommunication cost perspective and we compare it with other transmission schemes. The performance evaluation has been performed with the aid of a new simulation tool that estimates the cost for the MBMS provision under different network topologies, MBSFN deployments and user distributions. JF - Tenth Annual Wireless Telecommunications Symposium (WTS 2011), New York, USA ER - TY - CONF T1 - Reliable Multicasting over LTE: A Performance Study T2 - 16th IEEE Symposioum on Computers and Communications (ISCC 2011), Kerkyra, Greece Y1 - 2011 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Antonios Alexiou A1 - Andreas Papazois A1 - Vasileios Kokkinos A1 - Konstantinos Asimakis A1 - Georgia Tseliou KW - FEC KW - LTE KW - MBMS KW - MBSFN AB - With the booming of multimedia services, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has introduced the evolved Multimedia Multicast/Broadcast Service (e-MBMS) feature for LTE systems. The main objective of MBMS is to introduce real broadcast distribution capabilities into cellular systems. This purposed 3GPP to introduce the MBMS over a Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) operation. In this work we investigate the provision of MBMS service over a combination of MBSFN and PTM transmission schemes. We focus on the file repair procedure, because the distribution of binary data via MBMS must result in 100% error-free downloaded files. In order to achieve this goal, MBMS offers a Forward Error Correction (FEC) mechanism. Our simulation results show that there are some file repair schemes that achieve better performance as far as different network configurations are concerned. Furthermore, we compare all the file recovery methods and evaluate them against various network parameters in a realistic simulation environment. JF - 16th IEEE Symposioum on Computers and Communications (ISCC 2011), Kerkyra, Greece ER - TY - CONF T1 - Adopting forward error correction for multicasting over cellurar networks T2 - European Wireless 2010, Lucca, Italy Y1 - 2010 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Antonios Alexiou A1 - Andreas Papazois KW - FEC KW - LTE KW - MBMS KW - MBSFN AB -

FEC is an error control method that can be used to augment or replace other methods for reliable data transmission. Such schemes inevitably add a constant overhead in the transmitted data. However, they are so simple as to meet a prime objective for UMTS multicast services, that is scalability to applications with thousands of receivers. This is the reason that 3GPP recommends the use of FEC for MBMS framework. In this paper, we use a probabilistic model for the multicast user distribution in the network and we define a scheme for multicast data delivery that combines FEC with traditional ARQ. It is important that our analysis is compliant with the 3GPP specifications and considers the latest advances in mobile networks. In this framework we investigate the impact of FEC use, we examine whether it is beneficial, how the optimal FEC code dimensioning varies based on the network conditions, which parameters affect the optimal FEC code selection, and how they do it.

JF - European Wireless 2010, Lucca, Italy ER - TY - CONF T1 - Communication Cost Analysis of MBSFN in LTE T2 - The 21st IEEE Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC 2010), Istanbul, Turkey Y1 - 2010 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Antonios Alexiou A1 - Vasileios Kokkinos A1 - George Tsichritzis KW - Cost analysis KW - LTE KW - MBSFN AB - Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the latest step towards the 4th generation (4G) of radio technologies designed to increase the capacity and speed of mobile communications. To support Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Services (MBMS), LTE offers the possibility to transmit Multimedia Broadcast multicast service over a Single Frequency Network (MBSFN), where a time-synchronized common waveform is transmitted from multiple cells for a given duration. In this paper we analytically present the MBSFN delivery method and evaluate its performance. The critical parameters of primary interest for the evaluation of the scheme are the packet delivery cost and its scalability. To this direction, a telecommunication cost analysis of the MBMS service is presented based on the transmission cost over the air interface, as well as the costs of all interfaces and nodes of the MBSFN architecture. Since the performance of the MBSFN scheme mainly depends on the configuration of the LTE network that is under investigation, we consider different network topologies, MBSFN deployments and user distributions. JF - The 21st IEEE Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications (PIMRC 2010), Istanbul, Turkey ER - TY - CONF T1 - Efficient MCS Selection for MBSFN Transmissions over LTE Networks T2 - IFIP Wireless Days 2010, Venice, Italy Y1 - 2010 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Antonios Alexiou A1 - Andreas Papazois A1 - Vasileios Kokkinos A1 - George Tsichritzis KW - LTE KW - MBMS KW - MBSFN KW - MCS AB - Long Term Evolution (LTE), the next-generation network beyond 3G, is designed to support the explosion in demand for bandwidth-hungry multimedia services that are already experienced in wired networks. To support Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Services (MBMS), LTE offers functionality to transmit MBMS over a Single Frequency Network (MBSFN), where a time-synchronized common waveform is transmitted from multiple cells for a given duration. This significantly improves the Spectral Efficiency (SE) compared to conventional MBMS operation. The achieved SE is mainly determined by the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) utilized by the LTE physical layer. In this paper we propose and evaluate four approaches for the selection of the MCS that will be utilized for the transmission of the MBSFN data. The evaluation of the approaches is performed for different users? distribution and from SE perspective. Based on the SE measurement, we determine the most suitable approach for the corresponding users? distribution. JF - IFIP Wireless Days 2010, Venice, Italy ER - TY - CONF T1 - Enhancing FEC Application in LTE Cellular Networks T2 - IFIP Wireless Days 2010, Venice, Italy Y1 - 2010 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Antonios Alexiou A1 - Andreas Papazois A1 - Vasileios Kokkinos A1 - Georgia Tseliou KW - FEC KW - LTE KW - MBMS KW - MBSFN AB - 3rd Generation Partnership Project?s (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) is focused on enhancing the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). Evolved-Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service (e-MBMS) uses Multimedia Broadcast over a Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) operation in order to improve its performance. In MBSFN operation, data are transmitted simultaneously over the air from multiple tightly time-synchronized cells. Raptor codes have been standardized as the main application layer Forward Error Correction (FEC) method for e-MBMS due to the advanced error protection they offer and their overall performance. In this study, we investigate the application of FEC in MBSFN-enabled LTE cellular networks and we propose a new scheme that takes into account the properties of MBSFN in order to provide a more efficient operation of FEC during e-MBMS transmissions. The proposed scheme is compared with other file recovery methods and is evaluated against various network parameters in a realistic simulation environment. JF - IFIP Wireless Days 2010, Venice, Italy ER - TY - CONF T1 - Spectral Efficiency Performance of MBSFN-enabled LTE Networks T2 - 6th IEEE International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking and Communication (WiMob 2010), Niagara Falls, Canada Y1 - 2010 A1 - Christos Bouras A1 - Antonios Alexiou A1 - Andreas Papazois A1 - Vasileios Kokkinos A1 - George Tsichritzis KW - LTE KW - MBMS KW - MBSFN KW - MCS AB - Long Term Evolution (LTE) constitutes the latest step before the 4th generation (4G) of radio technologies designed to increase the capacity and speed of mobile communications. To support Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Services (MBMS), LTE offers the possibility to transmit Multimedia Broadcast multicast service over a Single Frequency Network (MBSFN), where a time-synchronized common waveform is transmitted from multiple cells for a given duration. This enables over-the-air combining, thus improving the Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) and spectral efficiency (SE) significantly compared to conventional MBMS operation. In this paper, we analytically calculate the SE performance achieved in a MBSFN area for a dynamically changing user topology and different modulation and coding schemes (MCS). Finally, based on the SE measurement, we determine the MCS scheme that either maximizes or achieves a target SE for the corresponding user distribution. JF - 6th IEEE International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking and Communication (WiMob 2010), Niagara Falls, Canada ER -