The Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

TitleThe Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
Publication TypeBook Chapter
Year of Publication2010
AuthorsBouras, C, Alexiou, A, Kokkinos, V, Rekkas, E
Book TitleSelected Topics in Communication Networks and Distributed Systems
Chapter2
Pagination 43 - 78
PublisherWorld Scientific
KeywordsMBMS, UMTS
Abstract

The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) constitutes the premier third generation (3G) wireless technology that is dominating the global market. Multicasting is an efficient method of supporting group communication as it allows the transmission of packets to multiple destinations, using fewer network resources. The need for broadcasting and multicasting in UMTS led to the definition of the Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) framework, which targets the efficient utilization of radio and network resources of the UMTS network. This chapter introduces the key concepts of UMTS and in particular the MBMS framework of UMTS. Moreover, it investigates the power profiles of several transport channels (common and dedicated) which could be employed for the transmission of MBMS services to mobile users. Problems regarding the high power requirements for the realization of MBMS are also presented. The reader will become familiar with these problems and the proposed techniques/solutions.

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