Multicast in Third–Generation Networks – Services, Mechanisms and Performance : Services, Mechanisms and Performance

Provides an accessible overview of the fundamentals of multicast in fixed and mobile networks. Covers hot topics such as MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) for UMTS and multicast over the CDMA air interface Discusses different strategies for carrying multicast traffic over the air interface and its performance.

A hands-on tutorial on multicast in third-generation networks! In this book, the authors describe how to perform multicast, the one-to-many delivery of data to a group of destinations, in third-generation mobile networks. The authors provide an overview of the services that can be realized with multicast in third-generation networks, describe the mechanisms required to support these services and highlight the performance of several multicast mechanisms. The focus of this book is on multicast in UMTS and CDMA2000 networks, the dominant third-generation network standards. In addition to describing the standards for multicast, the authors also provide extensive performance results of multicast in third-generation networks. Key Features: •Provides an in-depth review of the fundamentals of multicast •Describes in detail the MBMS and BCMCS standards for multicast in UMTS and CDMA2000 networks, respectively •Provides a comprehensive overview of the services that can be realized with multicast in third-generation networks •Highlights the performance of multicast in third-generation networks •Investigates how multicast can be achieved in heterogeneous networks consisting of cellular and broadcast networks This book is an invaluable resource for professional engineers and researchers working in the area of third-generation networks. Postgraduate and graduate students on networking and communications courses will also find this book an insightful and valuable reference.