Multicast-broadcast single-frequency network
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Overview
Multicast-Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) is a communication channel defined in 3GPP's 4G cellular networking standard called Long Term Evolution (LTE). It can deliver services such as mobile TV using the LTE infrastructure, and is expected to compete with other mobile/handheld TV broadcast systems such as DVB-H, 1seg, CMMB, or T-DMB. [1]. This enables network operators to offer mobile TV without the need for additional expensive licensed spectrum and without requiring new infrastructure and end-user devices.
Technical Details
MBSFN is a transmission mode which exploits LTE's OFDM radio interface to send multicast or broadcast data as a multicell transmission over a synchronized single-frequency network (SFN). The transmissions from the multiple cells are sufficiently tightly synchronized for each to arrive at the UE within the OFDM Cyclic Prefix (CP) so as to avoid Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI). In effect, this makes the MBSFN transmission appear to a UE as a transmission from a single large cell, dramatically increasing the Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR) due to the absence of inter-cell interference. See 3GPP specifications TS 36.201 and TS 36.300.[2]
Reference
- ^ "Long Term Evolution (LTE): A Technical Overview" (PDF). Motorola Technical White Paper.
- ^ Sesia, Stefania (2009). LTE - A Pocket Dictionary of Acronyms (PDF). Wiley. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-470-69716-0.