Introduction

22.1463GPPMultimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS)Release 17Stage 1TS

Broadcast and Multicast are methods for transmitting data-grams from a single source to several destinations (point-to-multipoint). To date, release-4 and release-99 define two services in this respect:

A cell broadcast service (CBS) allowing for low bit-rate data to be transmitted to all subscribers in a set of given cells over a shared broadcast channel. This service offers a message-based service [5,6]

An IP-Multicast service allowing for mobile subscribers to receive multicast traffic. This service does not allow for multiple subscribers to share radio or core network resources and as such does not offer any advantages as far as resource utilization within the PLMN and over the radio access network. [3,4]

It is envisaged that for some applications, multiple users can receive the same data at the same time. The benefit of multicast and broadcast in the network is that the data is sent once on each link. For example, an SGSN will send data once to an RNC regardless of the number of Node Bs and UEs that wish to receive it. The benefit of multicast and broadcast on the air interface is that many users can receive the same data on a common channel, thus not clogging up the air interface with multiple transmissions of the same data.

With increasing use of high bandwidth applications in third generation mobile systems, especially with a large number of users receiving the same high data rate services, efficient information distribution is essential. Thus, broadcast and multicast are techniques to decrease the amount of data within the network and use resources more efficiently