Cost model for evaluation of SDMB service over integrated satellite-terrestrial UMTS networks

The number of broadband users has been growing rapidly during the last years. It is not only the number of users that increases but also the average data volume per user; a consequence of the increased number of users connected via broadband techniques is that the demand for audio and video content is also increasing. In this paper we describe an integrated satellite-terrestrial UNITS architecture investigating on the minimization of the delivery cost. The proposed telecommunication system can offer SDMB (Satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcast) services to mobile users through the satellite or terrestrial UNITS downlink segment. On the inside of this scenario we propose a simple and efficient cost model for choosing the more suitable bearer (satellite or terrestrial) in order to save service delivery cost, moreover we design a new signalling strategy based on users location information for supporting this optimal choice. The simulations performed show the goodness of the proposed strategy also with several mobile operator networks varying the number of users asking for the SDMB service.