Engineering the satellite radio interface of a hybrid satellite-terrestrial system for MBMS delivery

The synergy between satellite and terrestrial mobile networks is regarded as a promising approach for the delivery of broadcast and multicast services to mobile users. This paper evolves around a hybrid satellite-terrestrial system, featuring a unidirectional satellite component that is responsible for the delivery of point-to-multi point services. It proposes a systematic approach for the satellite system capacity partitioning between streaming and push-and-store services and the radio bearer configuration within the satellite access layer. The approach takes into account the service requirements, estimates of the traffic demand and popularity of individual services and preliminary link dimensioning exercises. A capacity analysis is carried out in the end to check the efficiency of the approach, concluding in the same time on the feasibility of this hybrid system solution.