Planning hybrid telecom networks for enhanced multimedia services

Abstract

With the demand for mobile communication services at an all-time high, multimedia services in particular have attracted the interest of the users. The unicast nature of current cellular networks puts severe strain on the limited spectrum when faced with demands for data intensive multimedia services. Powerful and efficient communication systems are needed, which provide high capacities, especially at the downlink. Furthermore, interactivity is essential for supporting the user needs and to extend the service offering. As one possible solution to meet the mentioned requirements, we consider the hybrid networks formed as a combination of the cellular networks (GSM, UMTS, etc.) and the mobile broadcast networks (DVB, MBMS, etc.).