Point-to-Multipoint Transmission Area Determination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multicast/broadcast transmission techniques in mobile networks are inefficient due to the need for complex group management in point-to-multipoint services, leading to resource wastage in broadcast services where content is transmitted to areas with low user density.
Innovation Solution
A method that initiates a location information query message in a group service area, receives location information responses, and determines a content transmission area based on user equipment locations, allowing for targeted PTM transmissions and unicast retrieval to optimize content distribution, thereby reducing resource usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If broadcast service transmits content into the entire service area to ensure all interested users can receive content, then coverage is improved, but network resources are wasted in areas with low user density
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary location queries to user equipment before initiating content transmission. Based on the collected location information, the network determines which geographic areas contain interested users and restricts transmission to those areas only, avoiding waste in areas with no or few users
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of uniform transmission across the entire service area, the system applies local quality by transmitting content only in specific geographic areas where user equipment is located. The transmission area is dynamically adjusted based on the distribution of interested users, optimizing resource usage while maintaining coverage
2Loss of energy
If multicast service keeps track of user locations and maintains transmission trees, then resource efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the necessary location information from user equipment using simple broadcast queries and unicast responses, rather than implementing full multicast group management functions. This extracted location data is sufficient for optimizing transmission areas without requiring complex user tracking infrastructure
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses location information as an intermediary element to optimize transmission decisions. Instead of directly implementing complex multicast routing and user tracking, the network uses simple location queries and responses to determine transmission areas, simplifying the overall system architecture
Data Source
AI summary
A technique for controlling a point-to-multipoint (PTM) transmission of data over a PTM-enabled network (150) to a user group is proposed. In a first PTM transmission, a location information query message is distributed into a group service area (154). Upon receiving the query message, items of user equipment respond with location information response messages comprising location information indicative of a location of the respective user equipment. On the basis of the received location information response messages, a content transmission area (156, 157, 158) is determined. A second PTM transmission is then initiated into the content transmission area for content distribution. Furthermore, the content may be distributed via unicast retrieval.