5G Broadcast
5G Broadcast is technology platform for robust and economic delivery of media and data to mobile devices. In summary, supporting broadcast in a mobile device effectively increased both operational and device costs, in effect reducing affordability and availability of broadcast support on phones:
In the past, there were several attempts to introduce broadcast capabilities in mobile devices, including 3G MBMS, DVB-H and MediaFLO. 5G Broadcast is a global terrestrial broadcast standard that was completed in 2020 as part of the 3GPP Release 16 specifications. It added enhanced features to the initial enhanced TV (enTV) standard 3GPP TR 36.976 that was part of 3GPP Release 14. 5G Broadcast has been endorsed as a standalone terrestrial broadcast system via ETSI TS 103 720 technical specification and most recently by ITU-R where it is defined as a worldwide standard within ultra-high frequency (UHF) band. 5G Broadcast meets all broadcast requirements defined in 3GPP TR 38.913.5G Broadcast is a technology designed specifically to target traditional broadcasters with a broadcast network infrastructure and UHF broadcast spectrum assets. In September 2023, 3GPP updated the specifications to add support for the broadcast bands.Due to its 3GPP heritage, 5G Broadcast is primarily focused on mobility use cases (smartphones). However, it does not require the network to support unicast nor the device to have a SIM card or a cellular subscription for free-to-air broadcast reception. While unicast is not required, 5G Broadcast can be combined with unicast to deliver a fully hybrid, integrated user experience leveraging the best aspects of unicast and broadcast technologies. Let me explain with an example later in this blog post.
- efficient free-to-air or zero-rated media content delivery
- robust emergency notification for public safety
- enhanced venue casting at sporting events or concerts.
In the past, there were several attempts to introduce broadcast capabilities in mobile devices, including 3G MBMS, DVB-H and MediaFLO. 5G Broadcast is a global terrestrial broadcast standard that was completed in 2020 as part of the 3GPP Release 16 specifications. It added enhanced features to the initial enhanced TV (enTV) standard 3GPP TR 36.976 that was part of 3GPP Release 14. 5G Broadcast has been endorsed as a standalone terrestrial broadcast system via ETSI TS 103 720 technical specification and most recently by ITU-R where it is defined as a worldwide standard within ultra-high frequency (UHF) band. 5G Broadcast meets all broadcast requirements defined in 3GPP TR 38.913.5G Broadcast is a technology designed specifically to target traditional broadcasters with a broadcast network infrastructure and UHF broadcast spectrum assets. In September 2023, 3GPP updated the specifications to add support for the broadcast bands.Due to its 3GPP heritage, 5G Broadcast is primarily focused on mobility use cases (smartphones). However, it does not require the network to support unicast nor the device to have a SIM card or a cellular subscription for free-to-air broadcast reception. While unicast is not required, 5G Broadcast can be combined with unicast to deliver a fully hybrid, integrated user experience leveraging the best aspects of unicast and broadcast technologies. Let me explain with an example later in this blog post.
The broadcast/multicast technology offered by 3GPP standards brings multiple benefits:
3GPP has been supporting broadcast/multicast technology since the days of 3G (more specifically, UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service). Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) architecture and protocols were defined to support broadcast/multicast use cases with 2G and 3G networks. To distinguish with the MBMS of UMTS, the enhanced MBMS leveraging 4G networks is called eMBMS (evolved MBMS) or FeMBMS (Further evolved MBMS) depending on the release (14 or later for the latter).To address broadcast/multicast requirements with 5G, 3GPP defined in its Release 15 that the services need to be supported. While there have been some descriptions in New Radio (NR) and 5G Core (5GC) specifications to satisfy this requirement, it was in Release 17 when 3GPP specified architectural enhancements to the 5G System (5GS) using NR to support multicast and broadcast services. This architectural enhancement is referred to as Multicast and Broadcast Service (MBS).
- Services can be provided over the existing infrastructure and spectrum, often requiring only incremental adjustments to deployed mobile network.
- 3GPP broadcast/multicast technology can offload different types of traffic from unicast. For example, streaming of identical or live content. Considering that the multimedia services, especially video, occupies much of the bandwidth, this functionality can enhance network efficiency.
- 3GPP broadcast/multicast technology provides scalability of broadcasting services, with large numbers of users or UEs able to access content.
3GPP has been supporting broadcast/multicast technology since the days of 3G (more specifically, UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service). Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) architecture and protocols were defined to support broadcast/multicast use cases with 2G and 3G networks. To distinguish with the MBMS of UMTS, the enhanced MBMS leveraging 4G networks is called eMBMS (evolved MBMS) or FeMBMS (Further evolved MBMS) depending on the release (14 or later for the latter).To address broadcast/multicast requirements with 5G, 3GPP defined in its Release 15 that the services need to be supported. While there have been some descriptions in New Radio (NR) and 5G Core (5GC) specifications to satisfy this requirement, it was in Release 17 when 3GPP specified architectural enhancements to the 5G System (5GS) using NR to support multicast and broadcast services. This architectural enhancement is referred to as Multicast and Broadcast Service (MBS).
