Integrated Mobile Broadcast
Encyclopedia
Integrated Mobile Broadcast (iMB) is a mobile wireless
technology that enables broadcast of content (such as live television) at the cellular transmitter level, using the 3G
or 4G
licenced radio spectrum, and received on mobile terminals.
iMB was accepted as part of the Release 8 3GPP
standards in December 2008. It was endorsed as the preferred broadcast standard by the GSM Association
(GSMA) in September 2009. On June 22, 2010, O2
, Orange and Vodafone
announced a multi-operator iMB pilot in the United Kingdom
.
iMB delivers mobile data broadcast
services in the 3G
TDD bands in a way that is integrated with existing 3G FDD unicast
technology. In June 2010, O2, Orange and Vodafone announced a UK trial of the technology, to offload bandwidth intensive mobile data from their unicast networks and place on the broadcast portion of their spectrum (TDD).
iMB supports both linear (live broadcast TV services) and non-linear (video clip
s, software update
s, data broadcast, music, etc.) broadcast services and can be implemented in TDD spectrum, currently owned, but unused by many operators as a part of their 3G licenses.
, allowing the delivery of 15 linear TV channels, each TV stream compressed at the bitrate of 320 kbit/s. The typical cell radius around the transmitter to receive the service will be around 350 metres (1,148.3 ft). Using a single-frequency network
(SFN) of transmitters, the received signal may be reinforced and the service coverage gets better.
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
technology that enables broadcast of content (such as live television) at the cellular transmitter level, using the 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
or 4G
4G
In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...
licenced radio spectrum, and received on mobile terminals.
iMB was accepted as part of the Release 8 3GPP
3GPP
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
standards in December 2008. It was endorsed as the preferred broadcast standard by the GSM Association
GSM Association
The GSM Association is an association of mobile operators and related companies devoted to supporting the standardizing, deployment and promotion of the GSM mobile telephone system...
(GSMA) in September 2009. On June 22, 2010, O2
O2 (United Kingdom)
Telefónica UK Limited is a telecommunications, internet and financial services provider in the United Kingdom owned by Telefónica, forming part of its Telefónica Europe division...
, Orange and Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
announced a multi-operator iMB pilot in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
iMB delivers mobile data broadcast
Cell Broadcast
Cell Broadcast messaging is a mobile technology feature defined by the ETSI’s GSM committee and is part of the GSM standard. It is also known as Short message service-Cell Broadcast ....
services in the 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
TDD bands in a way that is integrated with existing 3G FDD unicast
Unicast
right|200pxIn computer networking, unicast transmission is the sending of messages to a single network destination identified by a unique address.-Addressing methodologies:...
technology. In June 2010, O2, Orange and Vodafone announced a UK trial of the technology, to offload bandwidth intensive mobile data from their unicast networks and place on the broadcast portion of their spectrum (TDD).
iMB supports both linear (live broadcast TV services) and non-linear (video clip
Video clip
Video clips are short clips of video, usually part of a longer recording. The term is also more loosely used to mean any short video less than the length of a traditional television program.- On the Internet :...
s, software update
Software Update
Software Update is a software tool by Apple Inc. that installs the latest version of Apple software on computers running Mac OS X. It was originally introduced to Mac users in Mac OS 9. A Windows version has been available since the introduction of iTunes 7, under the name Apple Software Update....
s, data broadcast, music, etc.) broadcast services and can be implemented in TDD spectrum, currently owned, but unused by many operators as a part of their 3G licenses.
Example
Using a typical 5 MHz -wide TDD band, an operator may obtain 4800 kbit/s of IP multicast throughput over MBMSMBMS
MBMS may refer to:* Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service* Margaret Brent Middle School...
, allowing the delivery of 15 linear TV channels, each TV stream compressed at the bitrate of 320 kbit/s. The typical cell radius around the transmitter to receive the service will be around 350 metres (1,148.3 ft). Using a single-frequency network
Single-frequency network
A single-frequency network or SFN is a broadcast network where several transmitters simultaneously send the same signal over the same frequency channel.-Overview:...
(SFN) of transmitters, the received signal may be reinforced and the service coverage gets better.