Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service
Encyclopedia
Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS) is a point-to-multipoint
interface specification for existing and upcoming 3GPP
cellular network
s, which is designed to provide efficient delivery of broadcast
and multicast
services, both within a cell as well as within the core network. For broadcast transmission across multiple cells, it defines transmission via single-frequency network
configurations. Target applications include mobile TV
and radio broadcasting, as well as file delivery and emergency alerts.
No commercial deployments of MBMS are currently known.
UTRAN MBMS offers up to 256 kbit/s per MBMS Bearer Service and between 800 kbit/s and 1.7 Mbit/s per cell/band. The actual cell capacity depends on the UE capabilities. GERAN MBMS offers between 32 kbit/s and 128 kbit/s. Up to 4 GSM timeslot may be used for one MBMS bearer in downlink direction. The actual data rate per Traffic Slot depends on network dimensioning.
The MBMS User Service is basically the MBMS Service Layer and offers a Streaming- and a Download Delivery Method. The Streaming Delivery method can be used for continuous transmissions like Mobile TV services. The Download Method is intended for “Download and Play” services. To increase the transmission reliability, an application layer FEC code may be used. Further, a file-repair service may be offered to complement the download delivery method.
MBMS has been standardized in various groups of 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project), and the first phase standards are found in UMTS release 6. As Release 6 was functionally frozen by the 3rd quarter of 2004, practical network implementations may be expected by the end of 2007, and the first functional mobile terminals supporting MBMS are estimated to be available by also end of 2007.
/DVB-T
, DVB-SH
, DMB
, ESM-DAB
, and MediaFLO
. However, due to spectrum scarcity and the cost of building new broadcast infrastructure some of these technologies may not be viable. MediaFLO has been deployed commercially in the US by Verizon Wireless through their relationship with MediaFLO USA, Inc. (a subsidiary of Qualcomm) however the service was shut down in early 2011. DMB and DVB-H trials have been ongoing for more than a year now, like those during the football 2006 championships in Germany.
Huawei's proprietary CMB is a precursor to the Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service. It was specified in 3GPP
R6 and is using existing UMTS infrastructure. Huawei says that CMB is based on existing UMTS infrastructure and real time streaming application protocol and requires only a software upgrade to existing UMTS infrastructure. Huawei says it will maintain CMB and help to smoothly migrate to MBMS, but that by deploying CMB ahead of MBMS, operators will gain the advantage of two years of experience in streaming service deployment.
MBMS User Service (Service Layer):
Point-to-multipoint
Point-to-multipoint communication is a term that is used in the telecommunications field which refers to communication which is accomplished via a specific and distinct type of one-to-many connection, providing multiple paths from a single location to multiple locations.Point-to-multipoint is often...
interface specification for existing and upcoming 3GPP
3GPP
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
cellular network
Cellular network
A cellular network is a radio network distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver known as a cell site or base station. When joined together these cells provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area...
s, which is designed to provide efficient delivery of broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
and multicast
Multicast
In computer networking, multicast is the delivery of a message or information to a group of destination computers simultaneously in a single transmission from the source creating copies automatically in other network elements, such as routers, only when the topology of the network requires...
services, both within a cell as well as within the core network. For broadcast transmission across multiple cells, it defines transmission via 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:...
configurations. Target applications include mobile TV
Mobile TV
Mobile television usually means television watched on a small handheld device. It may be a pay TV service broadcast on mobile phone networks or received free-to-air via terrestrial television stations from either regular broadcast or a special mobile TV transmission format...
and radio broadcasting, as well as file delivery and emergency alerts.
No commercial deployments of MBMS are currently known.
Technical Description
The MBMS feature is split into the MBMS Bearer Service and the MBMS User Service. The MBMS Bearer Service includes a Multicast- and a Broadcast Mode. The MBMS Bearer Service uses IP multicast addresses for the IP flows. The advantage of the MBMS Bearer Service compared to legacy UMTS bearer services (interactive, streaming, etc.) is, that the transmission resources in the core- and radio network are shared. One MBMS packet flow is replicated by GGSN, SGSN and RNCs. MBMS may use an advanced counting scheme to decide, whether or not zero, one or more dedicated (i.e. unicast) radio channels lead to a more efficient system usage than one common (i.e. broadcast) radio channel.UTRAN MBMS offers up to 256 kbit/s per MBMS Bearer Service and between 800 kbit/s and 1.7 Mbit/s per cell/band. The actual cell capacity depends on the UE capabilities. GERAN MBMS offers between 32 kbit/s and 128 kbit/s. Up to 4 GSM timeslot may be used for one MBMS bearer in downlink direction. The actual data rate per Traffic Slot depends on network dimensioning.
The MBMS User Service is basically the MBMS Service Layer and offers a Streaming- and a Download Delivery Method. The Streaming Delivery method can be used for continuous transmissions like Mobile TV services. The Download Method is intended for “Download and Play” services. To increase the transmission reliability, an application layer FEC code may be used. Further, a file-repair service may be offered to complement the download delivery method.
MBMS has been standardized in various groups of 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project), and the first phase standards are found in UMTS release 6. As Release 6 was functionally frozen by the 3rd quarter of 2004, practical network implementations may be expected by the end of 2007, and the first functional mobile terminals supporting MBMS are estimated to be available by also end of 2007.
Market trials
Various mobile operators in the UK had conducted trials for MBMS-based mobile TV. There is no indication that these trials resulted in any commercial deployment.Competing technologies
Main competing technologies of MBMS include DVB-HDVB-H
DVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website...
/DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
, DVB-SH
DVB-SH
DVB-SH, Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite services to Handhelds, is a physical layer standard for delivering IP based media content and data to handheld terminals such as mobile phones or PDAs, based on a hybrid satellite/terrestrial downlink and for example a GPRS uplink...
, DMB
DMB
DMB is an acronym that may stand for:*Digital Multimedia Broadcasting*DaMarcus Beasley*Dave Matthews Band*Del McCoury Band*Delaware Memorial Bridge*Diamond Mind Baseball*Dimethylbutane...
, ESM-DAB
DAB
Dab or DAB may refer to:-Companies and organisations:* Danish Automobile Building, maker of buses* Dansk Almennyttigt Boligselskab, a Danish non-profit housing association...
, and MediaFLO
MediaFLO
MediaFLO is a technology developed by Qualcomm for transmitting audio, video and data to portable devices such as mobile phones and personal televisions, used for mobile television...
. However, due to spectrum scarcity and the cost of building new broadcast infrastructure some of these technologies may not be viable. MediaFLO has been deployed commercially in the US by Verizon Wireless through their relationship with MediaFLO USA, Inc. (a subsidiary of Qualcomm) however the service was shut down in early 2011. DMB and DVB-H trials have been ongoing for more than a year now, like those during the football 2006 championships in Germany.
Huawei's proprietary CMB is a precursor to the Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service. It was specified in 3GPP
3GPP
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
R6 and is using existing UMTS infrastructure. Huawei says that CMB is based on existing UMTS infrastructure and real time streaming application protocol and requires only a software upgrade to existing UMTS infrastructure. Huawei says it will maintain CMB and help to smoothly migrate to MBMS, but that by deploying CMB ahead of MBMS, operators will gain the advantage of two years of experience in streaming service deployment.
3GPP technical specifications
MBMS Bearer Service (Distribution Layer):- 3GPP TS 22.146 Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS); Stage 1
- 3GPP TS 23.246 Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS); Architecture and functional description
- 3GPP TS 25.346 Introduction of the Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) in the Radio Access Network (RAN); Stage 2
- 3GPP TS 25.992 Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS); UTRAN/GERAN Requirements
- 3GPP TS 43.246 Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) in the GERAN; Stage 2
- 3GPP TR 25.803 S-CCPCH performance for Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS)
MBMS User Service (Service Layer):
- 3GPP TS 22.246 Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) user services; Stage 1
- 3GPP TS 26.346 Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS); Protocols and codecs
- 3GPP TR 26.946 Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) user service guidelines
- 3GPP TS 33.246 3G Security; Security of Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS)
- 3GPP TS 32.273 Telecommunication management; Charging management; Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service (MBMS) charging
See also
- Mobile TVMobile TVMobile television usually means television watched on a small handheld device. It may be a pay TV service broadcast on mobile phone networks or received free-to-air via terrestrial television stations from either regular broadcast or a special mobile TV transmission format...
- DVB-HDVB-HDVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website...
- MediaFLOMediaFLOMediaFLO is a technology developed by Qualcomm for transmitting audio, video and data to portable devices such as mobile phones and personal televisions, used for mobile television...
- TDtvTDtvTDtv combines IPWireless commercial UMTS TD-CDMA solution and 3GPP Release 6 Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service to deliver Mobile TV. TDtv operates in the universal unpaired 3G spectrum bands that are available worldwide at 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz...
- Broadcast and Multicast Service (BCMCS), a point-to-multipointPoint-to-multipointPoint-to-multipoint communication is a term that is used in the telecommunications field which refers to communication which is accomplished via a specific and distinct type of one-to-many connection, providing multiple paths from a single location to multiple locations.Point-to-multipoint is often...
service defined for 3GPP2 systems