Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a radio technology designed to increase the capacity and speed of mobile telephone networks and provides for an end-to-end Internet Protocol (IP) service delivery of media. Currently, LTE comprises a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), which is described in a suite of Technical Specifications (TS) developed within and publicized by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), with the most recent version of the 3GPP TSs being published in September 2010.
LTE, in part, provides for a flat IP-based network architecture designed to ensure support for, and mobility between, some legacy or non-3GPP systems such as, for instance, GPRS (general packet radio service) and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). Some of the main advantages with LTE are high throughput, low latency, plug and play, FDD (frequency-division duplex) and TDD (time-division duplex) in the same platform, improved end user experience, simple architecture resulting in low operating costs, and interoperability with older standard wireless technologies such as GSM (Global Systems for Mobile Communications), cdmaOne™, W-CDMA (UMTS), and CDMA2000®. Many major carriers in the United States (US) and several worldwide carriers have started to convert their networks to LTE.
LTE and other 3GPP compliant systems (meaning systems having elements that operate in compliance with 3GPP TSs) also provide MBMS point-to-multipoint transport of media to UE operating on the system. Unfortunately, the MBMS transport mechanisms that are described in the 3GPP TSs have many shortcomings when compared to point-to-multipoint transport mechanisms offered by legacy narrowband systems. However, if organizations having more stringent requirements for media transport are going to realistically be able to use 3GPP technology, systems such as LTE systems will need to provide similar performance as the legacy systems, including similar performance for the point-to-multipoint mechanisms.
Accordingly, what is needed are some enhancements to the MBMS mechanisms of 3GPP compliant systems.
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