IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING 1

5G Radio Access Network Architecture for

Terrestrial Broadcast Services
Mikko Säily, Carlos Barjau Estevan, Jordi Joan Gimenez, Fasil Tesema, Wei Guo, David Gomez-Barquero and
De Mi

Abstract — The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has design. Rel-15 and Rel-16 only cover unicast, or Point-to-Point
defined based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) enhanced (PTP), transmissions. However, benefits of multicast and
Multicast Broadcast Multimedia Service (eMBMS) a set of new broadcast, or Point-to-Multipoint (PTM), have been already
features to support the distribution of Terrestrial Broadcast
services in Release 14. On the other hand, a new 5th Generation
assessed as beneficial for some 5G use cases [1], [2].
(5G) system architecture and radio access technology, 5G New The support of PTM communications is not new in 3GPP.
Radio (NR), are being standardised from Release 15 onwards, Mobile broadcast as a service is already included in Long Term
which so far have only focused on unicast connectivity. This may Evolution (LTE) as per the enhanced Multicast/Broadcast
change in Release 17 given a new Work Item set to specify basic Multimedia Service (eMBMS). The set of specifications have
Radio Access Network (RAN) functionalities for the provision of been updated to support new services such as public safety,
multicast/broadcast communications for NR. This work initially
excludes some of the functionalities originally supported for
Internet of Things (IoT) or Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) [3].
Terrestrial Broadcast services under LTE e.g. free to air, receive- Its most recent update comes in Rel-14 [4] and Rel-16 [5], [6]
only mode, large-area single frequency networks, etc. This paper in order to support the 5G requirements for broadcast, and in
proposes an enhanced Next Generation RAN architecture based particular for the provision of Terrestrial Broadcast services.
on 3GPP Release 15 with a series of architectural and functional This has implied severe changes at the air-interface to
enhancements, to support an efficient, flexible and dynamic implement larger Single Frequency Networks (SFNs) or the
selection between unicast and multicast/broadcast transmission
modes and also the delivery of Terrestrial Broadcast services. The
introduction of carriers with dedicated broadcast content. The
paper elaborates on the Cloud-RAN based architecture and architecture relies on the existing for eMBMS with the
proposes new concepts such as the RAN Broadcast/Multicast introduction of the so-called receive-only mode for Subscriber
Areas that allows a more flexible deployment in comparison to Identification Module (SIM)-free operation even without
eMBMS. High-level assessment methodologies including uplink, or a new xMB interface between the eMBMS system
complexity analysis and inspection are used to evaluate the and service providers. So far, eMBMS has proven limited
feasibility of the proposed architecture design and compare it with
success among mobile network operators due to a demanding
the 3GPP architectural requirements.
implementation both at the network architecture and user
Index Terms — 5G, architecture, broadcast, multicast, point-to- equipment.
point, point-to-multipoint, radio access network, single frequency Under the 5G System (5GS) and NG-RAN architectures,
network, signal synchronisation. basic support for multicast/broadcast is expected to be
introduced in Rel-17. This includes Multicast/Broadcast
I. INTRODUCTION support at 5G Core Network [7] and NR-based Mixed Mode

T transmissions at RAN [8]. The support of Terrestrial Broadcast

rd
HE 3 Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) finalised the
first set of 5th Generation (5G) specifications for Release 15 services is not in the scope of these specifications. However, a
(Rel-15) in December 2018. This defines a new Radio Access generic architectural solution that could allocate requirements
Technology (RAT) known as New Radio (NR), the Next from different domains would be beneficial to increase
Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) and the 5G Core deployment opportunities.
Network which embrace several design principles such as: (i) One of the 3GPP system requirements for 5G is a flexible
forward compatibility with future releases; (ii) control-user broadcast/multicast service for three types of devices, be they
plane separation (CUPS); (iii) lean and cloud-native system enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra Reliable and Low

This work was supported in part by the European Commission under the Politecnica de Valencia, 46022 Valencia, Spain (e-mail: {carbare1,
5GPPP project 5G-Xcast (H2020-ICT-2016-2 call, grant number 761498). The dagobar}@iteam.upv.es).
views expressed in this contribution are those of the authors and do not J. J. Gimenez is with the Future Networks Department, Institut für
necessarily represent the project. Part of the material in this paper was presented RundfunktTechnik GmbH, 80939 Munich, Germany (e-mail:
at the IEEE International Symposium on Broadband Multimedia Systems and jordi.gimenez@irt.de).
Broadcasting (BMSB) 2019 [20]. F. Tesema is with Nomor Research GmbH, Munich, 81541 Germany (e-
M. Säily is with the Standardization and Research Lab, Network & mail: tesema@nomor.de)
Architecture Group, Nokia Bell Labs, Espoo, 02610 Finland (e-mail: W. Guo is with Samsung R&D Institute UK, Staines-upon-Thames TW18
mikko.saily@nokia-bell-labs.com). 4QE, U.K. (e-mail: wei6.guo@samsung.com).
C. Barjau Estevan and D. Gomez-Barquero are with the Institute of D. Mi is with the 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC), Institute for Communication
Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (iTEAM), Universitat Systems, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, U.K. (e-mail:
d.mi@surrey.ac.uk).
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING 2

Latency Communications (URLLC) and massive Machine

Type Communications (mMTC) [9]. 5G should be envisioned
as a system of systems, where the Core and Transport Network Data Network
SMF
alongside the RAN must accommodate a plethora of different
N6 N4 N11
services, with stringent requirements, ranging from several
gigabits/sec (think of Augmented/Virtual reality - AR/VR) to UPF AMF
low kilobits/sec throughput (think of mMTC), latencies ranging 5GC
NG-RAN
from 1 millisecond (e.g., industrial IoT) up to several seconds N3 N2

(e.g., best-effort data delivery), mobility support to moving gNB

gNB-CU-UP E1 gNB-CU-CP Xn
gNB
devices, from static equipment (e.g., roof-top antennas) up to (SDAP, PDCP) (SDAP, PDCP)

500 kilometre per hour (e.g., V2X) and support for millions of F1-U F1-C
F1-C F1-U
users per square kilometre (e.g., massive IoT) [10]-[12].
The 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G-PPP) gNB-DU gNB-DU
(RLC, MAC, PHY) (RLC, MAC, PHY)
project 5G-Xcast has developed a holistic implementation of eCPRI/xRAN
5G PTM systems [13], covering Core Network [14]-[16] and interface

RAN developments from air interface [17], [18] to architecture RU RU RU RU

[19]-[21] and protocols [21], [22]. This can facilitate the (PHY) (PHY) (PHY) (PHY)
fulfilment of requirements from different applications [23],
including traditional Terrestrial Broadcast deployments, which
Fig. 1. Rel-15 NG-RAN architecture with a CU-DU split deployment.
are the scope of this work. The main contributions of this work
are listed as follows: Central Units (CUs) and Distributed Units (DUs) in 5G
• We develop a dynamic RAN Broadcast/Multicast Areas architecture enables dynamic adaptation of QoS functions
mechanism that allows the delivery of multicast/broadcast depending on the real-time radio conditions, user density and
services wherever needed without the fixed deployment on dynamically controlled geographical area.
top of the existing RAN. As shown in Fig. 1, the gNB functions are split into CU and
• Our proposed RAN architecture design supports multi-cell DU, where CU covers higher layer protocol functions of
and SFN transmissions using NG-RAN based Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) and Packet Data
synchronization method fulfilling Quality of Service (QoS) Convergence Protocol (PDCP), and DU entails lower layer
targets defined for traffic flows. protocol functions of Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium
• We introduce a new RAN interface design to support Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY). In a typical
Terrestrial Broadcast and multicast with the minimal Cloud-RAN deployment, the CUs are placed in a computing
impact on the current 5G system. hardware pool and thus form the cloud. The gNBs are inter-
• We propose a detailed procedure and deployment strategy connected through an Xn interface.
for our architecture design, together with high-level The F1 interface provides control (F1-C) and user (F1-U)
evaluations including complexity analysis and inspection, plane connectivity between the CU and DU, enabling
providing insightful and practical instructions on the deployments with C/U-plane separation. The E1 interface
feasibility of our design. provides connectivity between the user plane CU-UP and
The rest of this paper is structured as follows. First, the RAN control plane CU-CP, enabling deployments with C/U-plane
architecture evolution to 3GPP Rel-15 is discussed in Section separation on the CU level. The interface also provides
II. Next, it details in Section III our design on the new RAN separation between the radio network and transport network
architecture for the Terrestrial Broadcast. Then, deployments layers, enabling the exchange of User Equipment (UE) and non-
and procedures of the proposed architecture are presented in UE associated information. When F1 is separated into F1-C
Section IV. Section V provides a complexity analysis of our and F1-U, consequently the Xn inter-connecting the gNBs is
architecture design for both Terrestrial Broadcast and multicast separated into Xn-C on the control plane and Xn-U on the user
scenarios. Finally, Section VI concludes the key findings and plane. A gNB-CU is further separated logically into gNB-CU-
potential ways forward. CP and gNB-CU-UP, with E1 Application Protocol (E1AP)
providing the signalling service between them.
II. PRELIMINARIES ON 5G NR RAN ARCHITECTURE IN 3GPP These architecture enhancements provide a significant
REL-15 opportunity to design an innovative RAN architecture for
The key architectural element in RAN design in 3GPP Rel- multicast and broadcast services.
15 specifications is to extend the distributed base station
architecture towards flexible Cloud-RAN based protocol III. PROPOSED NEW RAN ARCHITECTURE DESIGN FOR
functionality where the computing hardware pools are used to TERRESTRIAL BROADCAST
handle the higher layer processing of user plane data traffic and A. Design Principles
control plane signalling. The protocol functionality split of NR Our prior investigations [24] and [14] set some of the
base station, namely Next generation NodeB (gNB), between limitations found in eMBMS at the air-interface and system
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING 3

architecture, respectively. Even more, in [25] it collects a series

of limitations for the provision of Terrestrial Broadcast AMF UPF

services. N2 N2 N3 N3

In order to overcome the overall limitations of eMBMS, we

provide novel technical developments using an enhanced NG- gNB-CU
Xn
RAN architecture based on 3GPP Rel-15, which primarily F1 F1
gNB
focuses on broadcast/multicast capabilities to address
requirements from multiple verticals and is also able to be DU#1
configured, in a more static fashion, to cover requirements DU#2 Multi-Cell-PtM
focused on Terrestrial Broadcast services. The key architectural Inter-gNB
enhancement is leveraged on CU-DU split specifications as
Intra-CU RAN Multicast Area
specified in 3GPP NG-RAN [26], and our main target is to
provide a solution with a high commonality with unicast,
Terrestrial Broadcast Service Area
minimizing the additional implementation footprint.
Fig. 2. Deployments of RBMA for Terrestrial Broadcast Service Area.
5G broadcast and multicast services should, in general, be
available in dynamic areas where the number of users during portable and mobile reception [24].
popular events (e.g., in stadiums) can be high and the user The RBMA for Terrestrial Broadcast Service Area, as
distribution within the multicast area very likely changes over illustrated in Fig. 2, is defined as the amount of time/frequency
the time. In addition, seamless switching between PTP and resources per transmitter area (either for a single transmitter, an
PTM transmissions, dynamic adjustment of the RAN multicast MFN or SFN area) reserved for the potential transmission of
area based on user distribution (from one cell to several Terrestrial Broadcast services. In order to adapt to a variety of
synchronised cells), and efficient multiplexing with PTP deployments suitable for the delivery of Terrestrial Broadcast
transmissions in frequency and time domain should be services, the RAN may be provided via Operation and
provided. To this end, a concept of RAN Broadcast/Multicast Maintenance (O&M) with the list of cells that constitute a given
Area (RBMA) is developed to allow delivery of PTM services RBMA with the following assumptions:
wherever needed without eMBMS-type of static deployment on • Each single cell transmitter is considered as a constituent
top of the existing RAN [19], [25]. RBMA mechanism takes RBMA;
account the user activity, user mobility, number of devices and • A cluster of cells that constitute an SFN is regarded as a
their geographical distribution [19]. unique RBMA;
The RAN is aware of UE’s interest to receive data from • A wide coverage area comprising a variety of topologies
Internet Protocol (IP) multicast group. Dynamic RBMA with (e.g. mixture of single and SFN transmitter areas) is formed
synchronization point in NG-RAN can support multitude of by means of multiple RBMA;
deployments from a single cell DU to multiple cells under • One transmitter can be operating more than a single carrier,
several DUs, still controlled by a single CU. The proposed RAN therefore, each cell in the list may be associated a given
architecture may also support a multi-cell transmission using frequency (e.g., DL_EARFCN).
NG-RAN based synchronization method, where synchronised Each RBMA is identified by means of a RBMA Index
DUs participate to multi-cell transmission using a single CU as (RBMA ID) which can be selected by the service provider via
a point for transmission coordination. This approach enables xMB interface [27], [28]. A 5G-Xcast Control plane network
over the air transmission of synchronised multicast/broadcast Function (XCF) is proposed to translate the RBMA ID to the
traffic while fulfilling the QoS targets defined for the traffic actual identifiers of the gNBs [14], [19].
flows. The amount of available resources per carrier might be
B. RAN Broadcast/Multicast Area for Terrestrial Broadcast different in each transmitter due to several circumstances such
as the presence of other services, the use of carriers of different
In the context of Terrestrial Broadcast, the RBMA is
bandwidth or the needs of inter-transmitter scheduling (e.g.
configured according to pre-defined coverage requirements and
time/frequency reuse) to avoid interferences. Therefore, each
agnostic to the QoS that UEs actually experience (either they
RBMA shall be informed of the specific amount of
have uplink capabilities or not) [19], [24], [25].
time/frequency resources that need to be available for potential
A slightly different approach is followed to address the
service scheduling via xMB. It is a design assumption in our
requirement on large area coverage where the use of SFN
RAN architecture that services to be transmitted in SFN will be
modes are avoided when possible as this has a severe impact on
scheduled over dedicated resources with an adequate
the air-interface design. To the contrary, Terrestrial Broadcast
numerology. The group of resources with different
infrastructure is usually heterogeneous and relies on local,
numerologies can be multiplexed by using different Carrier
regional or nationwide transmitter areas in SFN or in Multi-
Bandwidth Parts (Frequency Division Multiplexing - FDM;
Frequency Network (MFN) with some degree of frequency
multiplexed within a given OFDM symbol) or subframes /
reuse. The support of concurrent delivery of both unicast and
frames (via Time Division Multiplexing - TDM).
PTM services to the users from the same cell, with efficient
The delivery of each broadcast service, e.g. TV or radio, can
multiplexing with unicast transmissions is also taken into
be configured according to the RBMA ID where the service is
account. The design approach should also support fixed,
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING 4

5G RAN
synchronised multicast transmission across many DUs and
CUs. In this setup, relevant SYNC parameters like SYNC
gNB gNB period and SYNC sequence are defined which are needed for
supporting supporting the SYNC protocol. The revision of SYNC is called RAN-
broadcast gNB-CU- gNB-CU- broadcast SYNC and is one of the main 5G-Xcast contributions [19], [20].
and MC MC and This approach enables fast and flexible network deployments
multicast Xn-U multicast and simplifies the network operating and maintenance process.
E1
In this case, the entity encapsulating the data resides inside the
F1-M gNB-CU- gNB-CU- RAN, while in 4G eMBMS, SYNC is applied at the Broadcast
CP CP Multicast Service Centre (BM-SC). Thus, the realization
F1-C
Xn-C complexity to set up the network with the proposed RAN-
E1
SYNC can be lower than 4G eMBMS, as in eMBMS the
gNB-CU- gNB-CU- operator must set up both Core and RAN but here the RAN can
UP UP operate independently from the Core and its agnostic to the
F1-U Xn-U
transport network used. Also note that we propose the use of
gNB-DU gNB-DU SYNC across gNBs due to the fact that it allows the underlying
gNB modules to reuse existing eMBMS technology (e.g.,
Multi-cell/multicast coordination entity - MCE) thus lowers the
Un-C Un-U implementation costs.
The proposed RAN architecture does not include a dedicated
IAB node supporting broadcast and multicast
network configuration entity, by which functionality would
include the configuration of multi-cell transmission. Instead,
the approach uses run-time configuration of the transmission
Fig. 3. 5G RAN internal architecture and interfaces.
parameters. In the multi-cell transmission, the transmitting
meant to be delivered. Associated to each broadcast service, the gNB-DUs must be synchronised. The gNB-DUs exchange the
Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) index that fulfils the information about their PHY synchronization/clock and system
robustness (coverage) and data rate requirements of the reference frame number, if this information is not readily
Service-Level Agreement (SLA) is indicated together with available. The PHY synchronization and reference clock
scheduling information in terms of required time/frequency information could indicate a synchronization region such as
resources for the given data rate (e.g. initial and final Physical Multicast Broadcast SFN (MBSFN) synchronization area
Resource Block - PRB). Identity (Id) in eMBMS. The gNB-DUs can also determine
An admission control procedure will determine the allocation whether they are synchronised to a common time reference (e.g.
of a new broadcast service according to the amount of available in Global Navigation Satellite System) and provide the PHY
resources in the carrier for the allocation of Terrestrial synchronization/clock information and system frame number as
Broadcast service (as indicated per RBMA) and the amount of an offset to the common time reference. The latter approach
required resources per service. does not require additional configuration between gNB-DUs.
C. Synchronised Content Delivery D. New RAN Interfaces for Broadcast
To fulfil the SFN requirements, the 5G-Xcast RAN ITU-T Recommendation I.112 [30] defines an interface as
incorporates two main functionalities, one involving the control “the common boundary between two associated systems”, and
plane residing in the gNB-CU-C and the other related to the user 3GPP follows the definition as in 3GPP TR 21.905 [31]. A
plane inside the gNB-CU-MC (as shown in Fig. 3): The control network interface covers all protocol layers of significance for
plane part is the setup of the SFN area inside cellular networks, network elements at both sides of the interface. E.g. if the
deciding the physical layer parameters such as modulation, network elements are Layer 2 entities then the interface should
code rate and scheduling to satisfy specific QoS. This decision be specified at Layer 2. In most cases, the interface specification
is propagated using new signalling towards the relevant gNB- goes all the way down to Layer 1, to be represented as a full
DU, which relays this to the relevant Remote Radio Heads protocol stack to enable the interconnection and even plug and
(RRH). In addition, the gNB-CU can take into account existing play. RAN interfaces are categorised into external and internal
unicast measurement reports to fine tune the physical layer interfaces. The external interfaces are those between the 5G
parameters of the SFN transmission. RAN (named NG-RAN in 3GPP) and 5G Core Network (5GC),
The second functionality is the constant encapsulation of the and those between the 5G RAN and the UE. The internal
multicast data to provide Time-to-Air (TTA) information for interfaces are those between 5G RAN nodes. 3GPP has been
the cells involved in the SFN transmission. A modified eMBMS continuously working on the definition and standardization of
synchronisation protocol (SYNC) based on [29] is used as the those interfaces in the 5G system. The principles for 5G RAN
encapsulation protocol, but instead of manually setting the interface design to support Terrestrial Broadcast are:
SYNC parameters between the eMBMS Core and the eNBs, the
• To reuse as much as possible and to enhance current NG-
parameters are negotiated in the SFN setup process of the gNB-
CU [20]. More specifically, the SFN parameter negotiation RAN interfaces to support broadcast and multicast to keep
origins from the master gNB-CU that wants to activate a the system interfaces as simple and as few as possible.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING 5

5GC 5G RAN
N2 User Plane PDUs
AMF gNB UE Signaling
supportin supportin application
N3 g NR Uu g
UPF
broadcast broadcast
M1-NG and and GTP-U
XUF multicast multicast

SCTP UDP
Fig. 4. Deployments of RBMA for Terrestrial Broadcast Service Area.
IP IP
• To define new interfaces to support broadcast and multicast
Data link layer Data link layer
if it is necessary.
The network interfaces should allow easy interconnection of
Physical layer Physical layer
products from different vendors, and the possibility of forward
compatibility for future evolution. (a) Control Plane protocol stack (b) User Plane protocol stack
3GPP has defined the interface between the 5G RAN and
Fig. 5. Interface protocol stack.
5GC as NG, and further specified into NG-C and NG-U for CP
and UP separately [32]-[34]. NG-C maps to the reference point to-multipoint delivery of user packets. GTP-U [44] upon User
N2 and NG-U to the reference point N3 [35]. Specifically, as Datagram Protocol (UDP) [45] provides non-guaranteed
shown in Fig. 4, N2 marks the interface between a gNB and the delivery of UP Protocol Data Unit (PDU) between the gNB and
Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), and N3 the UPF. N3 fully supports the functions of the M1 interface in
marks the interface between a gNB and the User Plane Function LTE, in the cases of 5G-Xcast architecture Alternatives 1 and 3
(UPF). In order to support the system architecture alternative 2 [14], where broadcast and multicast UP data will be carried over
described in [36], where our proposed broadcast and multicast N3 between gNB and UPF. On top of TNL, unicast, multicast
user plane network function (XUF) is directly connected to the and broadcast UP PDUs are multiplexed at Radio Network
RAN, a new UP interface M1-NG is introduced, marking the Layer (RNL).
interface between the broadcast and multicast supporting gNB
and the XUF. M1-NG is optional and is needed only for system IV. 5G RAN ARCHITECTURE DEPLOYMENTS AND
architecture alternative 2. PROCEDURES FOR BROADCAST AND MULTICAST
F1 interface [37] is defined between CU and DU. CUs are
As PTM services and vertical segments set a variety of very
interconnected through Xn interface [38]. In 5G UP and CP are
diverse requirements, the design of RAN protocol architecture
clearly separated, and consequently F1 is separated into F1-C
and procedures should consider the design principles where the
on CP and F1-U on UP, Xn into Xn-C on CP and Xn-U on UP.
multi-service RAN architecture needs to be flexible and support
A gNB-CU is further separated logically into gNB-CU-CP on
the coexistence of PTP, Single-Cell PTM (SC-PTM), Multi-
CP, gNB-CU-UP on UP, and gNB-CU-MC connected with the
Cell PTM (MC-PTM) and broadcast transmissions. Baseline
interface E1 [39], where gNB-CU-MC is introduced to support
for the RAN logical architecture design is NG-RAN Rel-15
broadcast and multicast, and a new interface F1-M is introduced
architecture.
to connect it with the gNB-DU. In order to support wireless
To allow deployment of existing PTM services and new
relay by Integrated Access and Backhaul [40], the NG-RAN Un
services, the overall RAN architecture and procedure need to
interfaces on both CP and UP are introduced as Un-C and Un-
support both (i) dynamic adjustment of the Multicast/Broadcast
U, to connect the Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) nodes. area based on the user distribution or service requirements and
The interfaces within the reference architecture are shown as in (ii) allow static and dynamic resource allocation between
Fig. 4. We also introduce Uu as the air interface between the 5G unicast and Multicast/Broadcast. Further, the RAN architecture
RAN and the UE, to support broadcast and multicast, as shown deployment should support full allocation of downlink carrier
in Fig. 4. resources for Multicast/Broadcast in large geographical areas
According to the logical architecture, N2 (NG-C), Xn-C, F1- up to the size of an entire country in SFN mode.
C and E1 are interfaces on Control Plane. The network
A. Procedures
interfaces on CP share the same signalling transfer protocol
stack, as shown in Fig. 5(a). The Transport Network Layer The design target of RBMA is to enable dynamic areas based
(TNL) is built on IP [41], [42] transport. Stream Control on user geographical distribution, reusing the flexibility of the
Transmission Protocol (SCTP) [43] is used for the transport of unicast architecture and basic principles of SC-PTM extended
the application layer signalling protocol. over to MC-PTM. Users having active unicast traffic is in
Interfaces N3 (NG-U), M1-NG, Xn-U, F1-U and F1-M are RRC_CONNECTED state [32] and since the UE location is
on User Plane. The network interfaces on UP share the same known by a single cell, it is proposed that the RAN (e.g. anchor
GTP-U tunnelling protocol stack, as shown in Fig. 5(b). The gNB) should decide the multicast bearer configuration or
TNL is built on IP transport and IP Multicast is used for point- deliver the multicast traffic over unicast data radio bearers. As
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING 6

multicast traffic. This can be further described with three

UE RRC States
different scenarios:
1. UE1 may be in RRC_CONNECTED state receiving both
High Low unicast and PTM multicast traffic from the same DU.
activity activity
Location of UE1 is known by a single cell in RAN, thus
enabling the transmission of unicast and multicast traffic
RRC RRC using only unicast bearers.
RRC Idle
Connected Inactive 2. The UE2 has completed its unicast traffic, and due to low
activity, the RAN (e.g. anchor gNB) decides to suspend the
CM-Connected
RRC configuration and configures the UE2 into
Fig. 6. Unicast activity and RRC States. RRC_INACTIVE state. The multicast traffic will move
shown in Fig. 6, if the number of active users is low, the from unicast Radio Bearer (RB) to multicast RB thus
multicast traffic is delivered to UEs using unicast. When the allowing the UE2 to continue the reception of PTM
unicast traffic of a UE is detected to have low activity, the UE multicast traffic. The configuration includes the
is moved to RRC_INACTIVE [46] and the UE continues to configuration for RRC_INACTIVE state as well as the
receive multicast traffic within the configured RBMA. The PTM Group-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI)
RBMA, where the UE can receive multicast traffic, is defined and RBMA Id consisting of at least one cell. The anchor
and controlled by RAN and can be part of the Radio Resource gNB receives the PTM multicast traffic over the N3 data
Control (RRC) configuration, or part of the broadcasted tunnel from UPF. When the UE2 identifies a new cell with
multicast configuration (e.g. System Information). The anchor better coverage/quality and optionally the current source
gNB (usually the last serving gNB) defines the RBMA cell is having degrading coverage/quality, the UE needs to
configuration, and in case of multiple gNBs, distributes it over perform a cell reselection to a new cell. As illustrated in
Xn interface to the gNBs which belong to the RBMA. Fig. 7, two cases with UE mobility can be identified for
Depending on the number of low activity UEs receiving UEs in RRC_INACTIVE state.
multicast in a cell, the gNB can decide to keep one (or more) (a) The UE2 moves inside the RBMA Id1 and performs cell
UEs in RRC_CONNECTED state, assuming that multicast reselection from one DU to another DU. The UE2 does not
bearer mapped to unicast bearer or direct usage of unicast bearer need notify the network about cell reselection since it is
is more spectral efficient than multicast bearer in able to receive the same multicast traffic from all
RRC_INACTIVE state with limited feedback. The benefit of transmission points under the same RBMA. The RBMA
RRC_INACTIVE over RRC_IDLE is the maintained can consist of one or more gNBs and the UPF traffic is
connection to AMF / UPF where the connection management distributed over F1, Xn and N3 interfaces to transmission
state remains in Connection Management (CM)-Connected and points to cover the RBMA area. Further, if the RBMA
the UE Context is stored in both UE and RAN. This will allow consists of multiple gNB contributing to MC-PTM
low latency state transition between RRC_CONNECTED and transmission, then the F1, Xn (necessary synchronization
RRC_INACTIVE, see Fig. 6. can be controlled by gNB receiving the IP multicast traffic
An example of the cell selection procedure with two RBMA over N3) and N3 interfaces can be used to route the same
Ids is presented in Fig. 7, including three UEs receiving IP IP multicast traffic to joining gNBs.

N1 N11
Tracking Area AMF SMF

RBMA Id1
UE1 N2

DU F1
UE2
Anchor N3 N6
UE2 Cell UPF DN
gNB CU
reselection
inside RBMA DU
UE2
Xn
N9
UE2 Cell
reselection UE2
outside RBMA DU
Any
N3 UPF
UE3 gNB CU
DU
RBMA Id2

Fig. 7. UE mobility and cell selection/reselection procedure for RAN Broadcast/Multicast Area.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING 7

X-cast tunnel
M1-NG
N2 N3
QoS flow QoS flow QoS flow

gNB NG-C M1-NG

NG-U Xn-C Xn-C
SDAP QoS flow mapping
CU-MC
Xn-U Xn-U
DRB DRB X-cast radio bearer (XRB)

CP UP
PDCP PDCP PDCP PDCP
RLC channels

Logical 5G-Xcast gNB

Switching function
(a)
RLC
M1-NG
N2 N3 RLC RLC RLC RLC
Central Entity M1-NG DTCH DTCH DTCH XTCH
NG-C NG-U Xn-C Xn-C

CU-CP CU-UP CU-MC

Xn-U Xn-U
Scheduling / Priority handling

F1-C
F1-U
MAC Mux UE
Distributed Entity
DU

Logical 5G-Xcast gNB

HARQ
(b)
Fig. 8. The proposed RAN deployment scenario without (a) or with (b) DL-SCH DL-SCH

functional split. Fig. 9. The proposed L2 architecture and bearer selection in Cloud-RAN.
(b) If the new target cell is outside of the RBMA Id1, UE assumptions of 5G NR overall architecture described in [26]
needs to notify the network its new location with RBMA which shows RAN architecture for gNBs with and without
update. Network will configure the UE with new RBMA functional splits.
Id and if the new RBMA consists of more than one gNB, For the RAN deployment without functional split, all the
network performs the RAN based Multicast Area Setup to logical gNB functions as well as RAN interface protocol
allow traffic distribution over Xn to gNBs belonging to terminations are hosted in a gNB physical node. Fig. 8(a)
RBMA. depicts this RAN deployment scenario. Herein, the logical
3. The UE3 is having low unicast activity, its connection nodes include CP and UP. The UP hosts the newly introduced
towards AMF is released and therefore the UE3 is control functions including functions performed by gNB-CU-
configured with RRC_IDLE state. In this state the Core MC. On the other hand, the UP logical node hosts 5G-Xcast
Network knows the UE’s location only within the tracking RAN function for delivery of user plane data [19]. The major
area in AMF. Alternatively, the UE3 could be also a interface protocol terminations for the aforementioned
receive only device or in Receive Only Mode (ROM) mode interfaces are NG-C (to which N2 reference point is mapped),
without uplink capability, thus the network does not know NG-U (to which N3 reference point is mapped), M1-NG, Xn-C
its existence or location respectively. In these cases, the and Xn-U.
RBMA may be configured with multiple cells participating Fig. 8(b) demonstrates our proposed RAN deployment
in SFN broadcast mode. The RBMA becomes the same as scenario with functional split. Herein, the figure shows logical
the tracking area or SFN service area and two or more nodes (CU-CP, CU-UP and DU), internal to a logical gNB. The
selected cells are participating in SFN, for example major interface protocol terminations for 5G-Xcast interfaces,
according to given pre-configuration. When the area of NG-C, NG-U, M1-NG, Xn-C and Xn-U, are hosted in the
RBMA Id2 is configured with SFN transmission, all the central entity. The DU is hosted in a distributed entity. The
UEs in that area can benefit from the SFN transmission central entity and distributed entity are separate physical nodes.
regardless of their RRC state. In this work, we further propose a Cloud-RAN based
In the case for Terrestrial Broadcast, users are unknown to deployment. At high level, the DU(s) closer to the deployed
the RAN (due to the lack of uplink and, therefore, registration cells receive information about a set of UEs to which the
into the network) and the RAN can decide beforehand and
multicast data should be transmitted and based on this
according to service and coverage requirements the multicast
information the distributed unit configures the needed unicast
bearer configuration for delivery. From the three scenarios
shown above, Terrestrial Broadcast would be an extension of channels and multicast channels. The CU being a centralised
UE3 being it a receive only device with no uplink capability. In unit and DU a local unit, the DU needs to make the decision of
this case the RBMA becomes the same as the tracking area or the transmission mode. When the DU receives multicast data
SFN service area. Single-cell transmission of an SFN with from a CU, it will select either unicast or multicast channel to
multiple cells participating can be configured. transmit the multicast data to the set of UEs as per the
procedures as described in the last subsection.
B. Deployments The proposed Layer 2 radio protocol architecture for Cloud-
Our proposed RAN deployment leverages the major RAN deployments is shown in Fig. 9. The multicast data is
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING 8

delivered to NG-RAN over a data tunnel, which in this case is Nation-wide SFN Regional SFN MFN/Local
referred as X-cast tunnel in Fig. 9 to emphasize the dynamic OFDM A OFDM B OFDM C
selection process of RLC entities and transport channels for the
transmission. The multicast traffic can comprise of multiple
QoS flows. In this case the SDAP can map the QoS flows to a
set of newly introduced broadcast/multicast data Radio Bearers
(XRB) to enable differentiation at lower layers for different Central Tx belongs to Central Tx belongs to Central Tx belongs to
QoS requirements. RBMA ID = 1 for the RBMA ID = 2 for the RBMA ID = 10 for the
Nationwide SFN Regional SFN MFN/Local service area
The PDCP, which is not used in eMBMS architecture, may RBMA ID = 1 RBMA ID = 1 RBMA ID = 2 RBMA ID = 10
provide sequence numbering and duplication detection. In case
the UE is receiving the same data over unicast and multicast
Dedicated Radio Bearers DRBs, the duplication detection
should be supported. The duplication can be used in the
proposed architecture also for performance enhancement when
the UE receives the same PDCP PDU over Dedicated Traffic
Channel (DTCH) and Multicast logical Channel (XTCH) as a
means for improving packet reliability. In this case the Fig. 10. Three deployments consisting of a nation-wide SFN, a regional SFN
ciphering functionality used for unicast is not required for and a single cell transmitter and their association to RBMA ID for Terrestrial
multicast. Another PDCP function relevant to the transport of Broadcast Services.
multicast data is the header compression and decompression.
A new RLC entity and corresponding mapping to a XTCH is
Switching function in the DU is the new functionality
created if multicast transport is not configured already. The
proposed to the architecture, where the DU selects the
configuration includes at least one of the following: logical
transmission method. Switching function locates below PDCP
channel identities, RLC configuration (e.g. mode, sequence
but above RLC layer, thus not placed in the same Cloud-RAN
number field length, timer values), MAC configuration and
computing hardware pool as the CU. Thus, using the F1
PHY configuration.
fronthaul interface, it is natural to place the Switching function
Some examples are provided regarding the cell arrangements
in the DU. For a set of UE’s receiving multicast data (i.e. the
from which a broadcast service may be transmitted, in this case
UE’s which have expressed their interest in receiving multicast
assuming TV/radio services. In Fig. 10, three different
and the PDU session has been modified to allocate the RAN
deployments are shown consisting of a nation-wide SFN, a
resources for UEs joining in the IP multicast group), a pair of
regional SFN and a deployment covering the same area by
RLC entities and logical channels (i.e., DTCH and XTCH
means of single cell transmitters. A central hexagon is
channels) is set up to transmit the multicast data over the air.
highlighted, which belongs to different RBMA IDs according
The multicast logical channels are shared between some or all
to the network planning requirements of each TV/radio service.
multicast UEs.
A frame transmitted from the central hexagon is shown, where,
The switching between unicast and multicast can be based on
for simplicity, TDM is used to multiplex frames containing the
the availability of UE measurements and the reported quantities
services per different RBMA. The three scenarios are:
in the measurements, such as Synchronization Signal -
• A set of transmitters configured within the same SFN area.
Reference Signal Received Power (SS-RSRP), Channel State
In this case a complete carrier (or frame within a carrier) is
Information (CSI)-RSRP, Synchronization Signal - Reference
available to schedule Terrestrial Broadcast services.
Signal Received Quality (SS-RSRQ), CSI-RSRQ, according to
• A set of transmitters that constitute different SFN areas
procedures related to RBMA. In general, if measurements are
requiring synchronization and orthogonal scheduling
not available, XRB switching is routing traffic though multicast
between SFN areas.
transport channels and when measurement reports indicate poor
radio condition for some UEs in comparison to others, the • A set of single-cell transmitters requiring orthogonal
Switching function will select the unicast transport channel for scheduling of resources to avoid mutual interference (in
those UEs and the multicast transport channel for other UEs. this case on a reuse 3 basis).
When setting up an XRB, RRC may configure thresholds in the C. RAN Network Slicing
XRB switching function to select between unicast and multicast One of the key features for the deployment of the proposed
logical channels, also considering the minimum number of UEs RAN architecture in 5G is network slicing. By harnessing
required for switching to multicast transport and the resulting network function virtualisation (NFV) and network
estimated resource and spectrum efficiency gain. softwarisation, RBMA can be sliced to facilitate the desired 5G
The gNB-DU switching function configuration includes network management solution. As pointed out in [15], it is not
RLC channels and logical channels for XRB bearer and DL appropriate to define a pure multicast slice, as multicast is
tunnel information. The gNB-DU configures at least unicast frequently mixed and tightly integrated with unicast to transport
transport by creating an RLC entity mapped to a single RLC broadcast and multicast communication services. Furthermore,
channel towards PDCP and mapped to a corresponding logical there is a requirement [9] to allow the deployment of a multicast
channel in MAC according to DRB setup procedures.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING 9

solution that can seamlessly adapt between unicast and transmission involving multiple cells for group transmission
multicast transmission to maximise the efficiency of using radio improves the spectral efficiency especially at the cell edges
and network resources. However, there is a need to define when the control of the SFN resides at the gNB-CU-C.
network slices for a category of broadcast and multicast
D. Scalability
services on the demand of Communications Service Provider
(CSP) and according to the SLA signed with the Network Broadcast/multicast with SFN transmission requires one
Operator (NOP), or specifically Mobile Network Operator resource allocation for the UE group. In case the SFN service
(MNO) for 5G networks. areas are semi-static and no uplink channel feedback is
The RBMA slicing provides a framework to implement the expected from the UEs, the amount of radio resources would be
network slicing in 5G-Xcast RAN and sets the ground for future independent of the number of UEs. When the SFN areas are
practical deployment as a primary option to provision and operated in a dynamic manner taking the UE interest in
manage broadcast and multicast services. receiving the broadcast/multicast, then resource allocation done
5G RBMA network slicing is the exact solution to meet the per UE group and the dynamic radio resource utilization in SFN
requirement specified in 3GPP on 5G MBMS, to support is not proportional to the number of users even if the unlimited
Multicast/Broadcast network sharing between multiple number of users may not be supported. SFN transmission in
participating MNOs, including the case of a dedicated MBMS NG-RAN is natively supported feature and the SFN
network [9]. broadcast/multicast architecture is integrated into the baseline
unicast architecture maximizing the scalability and enabling
V. 5G RAN ARCHITECTURE EVALUATION FOR TERRESTRIAL dynamic switching between different transmission modes for
BROADCAST AND MULTICAST transparent 5G broadcast networks [20].

A. Comparison table E. Dimensionality analysis

Table I describes the main features of each state-of-the-art The system proposed is formed by one gNB for the entire
cellular broadcast technologies and on-going Rel-17 work, deployment. Nation-wide SFNs for broadcast are characterised
comparing it to the proposed solution. for having a large number of cells, both deployed in High Power
High Tower (HPHT) and some used as gap-fillers. The
B. Imprint analysis architecture follows a tree-like topology, where one gNB-CU
Modified eMBMS SYNC controlled by RAN is proposed to with a gNB-CU-MC serves a large amount of gNB-DU over F1
reside between gNB-CU-MC and DU allowing controllable interface, and the gNB-DUs serve a large number of RRH/cells.
fronthaul latencies. The number of new interfaces impacts In [14], it is specified that the maximum number of uniquely
directly the service integration and deployment complexity of identified gNB-DUs under one gNB-CU allowed by the
the new broadcast/multicast system. Possibility to reuse and signalling is 236-1, and the maximum number of cells that can
enhance current NG-RAN interfaces to support broadcast and be served by one gNB-DU is 512 or 29. Overall, the maximum
multicast will keep the complexity low. 3GPP has defined number of cells served is (236 – 1)*512. To the best of authors’
interfaces between the NG-RAN and 5GC and specified knowledge, this value greatly exceeds any existing Digital
reference point N2 for Control Plane and reference point N3 for Terrestrial Television (DTT) deployment [20].
User Plane. The NG-RAN internal interfaces are those between On another vein, the biggest limiting factor for nation-wide
5G RAN logical network nodes. Enabling the gNB-CU-C to SFN deployment in 5G is the Inter-Site Distance (ISD) allowed
control the 5G broadcast/multicast and modified gNB-CU-MC by New Radio numerologies. As shown in [17], maximum ISD
as part of the gNB-DU internal interfaces minimises the need in Rel-15 is 1.41 Km. New physical layer schemes such as the
for new interfaces [20]. negative numerologies proposed in 5G-Xcast [17] could extend
C. Radio Resource Efficiency this up to 120 Km, perfectly fit for nation-wide SFN.
Broadcast/multicast through the 5G Physical Downlink F. Latency analysis
Shared Channel (PDSCH) with basic limited uplink feedback Latency performance parameters in cellular networks are
channel allows dynamic deployment of SFN network. SFN usually divided into Control Plane latency and User Plane

TABLE I
COMPARISON BETWEEN CELLULAR BROADCAST TECHNOLOGIES
Single Frequency Dynamic Service Receive Only Synchronization
Air Interface
Network Mode Areas Mode used
MBSFN LTE Yes No No SYNC
SC-PTM LTE No No No SYNC
feMBMS LTE Yes No Yes SYNC
Rel-17 Mixed
NR No Yes No To be defined
Mode
5G-Xcast RAN NR Yes Yes Yes RAN-SYNC
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING 10

latency. In detail, Control Plane latency is the time needed from TABLE II
an idle terminal to switch into a state ready to transmit and/or 5G-XCAST RAN ARCHITECTURE AGAINST 5G BROADCAST/MULTICAST
REQUIREMENTS
receive, with enabled context information in RAN and Core Broadcast/Multicast
5G-Xcast RAN Architecture
Network, while the User Plane latency is the time spent by a Requirement in 38.913 [9]
solution
packet from the source until it is decoded by the device. Given (RAN architecture related)
1. The overall 5G-Xcast RAN
that one of the design decisions of this architecture was to The new RAT shall support
architecture supporting
minimise the imprint over existing 5G solution, the results existing Multicast/Broadcast
multicast/broadcast and vertical
services (e.g. download,
obtained by 3GPP can be applied to this approach. For standard streaming, group
segments.
2. PDU Session Modification for
devices, this Control Plane and User Plane latency can be the communication, TV, etc.) and
multicast resource allocation and
same as Rel-15 latency i.e. around 15 ms [11] and 2 ms [17] for new services (e.g. V2X, etc).
multicast bearer selection.
Control and User Plane respectively. Possible upgrades to these 1. RBMA to allow dynamic
values can be the use of the newly introduced 5G The new RAT shall support multicast area along with user
dynamic adjustment of the distribution, requested service, UE
RRC_INACTIVE state which can lower the overall “wake-up” Multicast/Broadcast area based unicast activity, mobility and
latency from power-efficient state to active mode, and the use on e.g. the user distribution or connectivity.
of Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) to bring the source service requirements. 2. RBMA procedures to create and
modify RBMA.
content closer to the user [20]. 1. RAN based content
In general, the latency of the proposed architecture design The new RAT shall support synchronization supporting
compared to 4G eMBMS can be on the same grade of static and dynamic resource Transparent Multicast and
allocation between Terrestrial Broadcast.
magnitude since the purpose of SYNC is to compensate for the Multicast/Broadcast and 2. Support for SFN with RBMA
network deployment delays from geographically away unicast; the new RAT shall in and RAN based synchronization
transmitters (e.g. in a nation-wide SFN). In case that the 5G particular allow support of up using gNB-CU-MC enabling
RAN architecture is used to optimise the network resources, it to 100% of downlink resources synchronised transmission within
for Multicast/Broadcast (100% the gNB-DUs.
is expected to have a small area SFN with the same latency as meaning a dedicated MBMS 3. Multicast deployment using
5G unicast. carrier). Cloud-RAN for seamless
unicast/multicast bearer selection
The new RAT shall support
VI. CONCLUSION Multicast/Broadcast network
1. Support for SFN with RBMA
Having the 5G NR Rel-15 RAN unicast architecture as a sharing between multiple
and RAN based synchronization.
participating MNOs, including
basis for our RAN architecture design, we have proposed the case of a dedicated MBMS
2. RAN slicing using RBMA
architectural and functional enhancements allowing a flexible network.
deployment of 5G-Xcast RAN where the new Radio Access The new RAT shall make it
possible to cover large
Technology (RAT) supports dynamic adjustment of the geographical areas up to the
1. Synchronised multicast content
Multicast/Broadcast geographical area based on e.g. the user transmission using gNB-CU-MC
size of an entire country in SFN
which enforces the synchronised
distribution or service requirements. The new 5G-Xcast RAN mode with network
over the air transmission of
synchronization and shall allow
architecture can cover large geographical areas up to the size of multicast/broadcast traffic within
cell radii of up to 100 km if
an entire country in SFN mode with content synchronization for the gNB-DUs.
required to facilitate that
2. Support for SFN with RAN
SFN transmission. Developed RAN Broadcast/Multicast Area objective. It shall also support
based synchronization
and RAN based synchronization solutions can support local, local, regional and national
broadcast areas.
regional and national multicast/broadcast areas. The support for 1. The overall 5G-Xcast RAN
The new RAT shall support
dynamic geographical areas is enabled with the support of not Multicast/Broadcast services
architecture.
only Terrestrial Broadcast service but also a concurrent delivery 2. Support for ROM and PDU
for fixed, portable and mobile
Session Modification for multicast
of both unicast and multicast/broadcast services to the users, as UEs. Mobility up to 250 km/h
resource allocation and multicast
well as support for efficient multiplexing with unicast shall be supported.
bearer selection.
transmissions via seamless data bearer selection. The new RAT shall leverage
usage of RAN equipment (hard- The overall 5G-Xcast RAN
The proposed 5G PTM RAN architecture has been shown to and software) including e.g. architecture, e.g. based on the
fulfil the 5G-Xcast use case specific requirements [23] and multi-antenna capabilities (e.g. design principle of maximizing the
cover the generic architectural requirements listed in 3GPP TS MIMO) to improve architectural commonality with
38.913 [9], as compared in Table II. Multicast/Broadcast capacity unicast.
and reliability.
Leveraging the proposed solutions in this work can lead to The overall 5G-Xcast RAN
further investigations on generalised RAN framework designs, The new RAT shall support
architecture is designed to support
including more simulations and testing to evaluate the all kind of devices, e.g. devices
Multicast/Broadcast services
targeting for IP multicast services
appropriate architecture design for PTM in a more practical for mMTC devices.
with TX/RX capability and ROM
scenario. For example, this work suggests that the latency of the mode devices.
proposed solutions can be comparable to that of the 5G unicast,
thus one can carry out quantitative evaluations on the potential
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(South), 2019. Institute of Telecommunications and
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15)”, Mar. 2019. Telecommunications from the Universitat
[27] 3GPP TS 26.346 v16.3.0, “Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service Politècnica de València (UPV) in Spain,
(MBMS); Protocols and codecs (Release 16)”, Dec. 2019. while he was a Research Engineer at the
[28] 3GPP TS 29.116 v16.3.0, “Representational state transfer over xMB iTEAM Research Institute. In 2018 he joined
reference point between content provider and BM-SC (Release 16)”, Dec.
the Institut für Rundfunktechnik (IRT) as
2019.
[29] 3GPP TS 25.446 v15.0.0, “MBMS Synchronization protocol, (SYNC),” Project Manager and Research Engineer for
Jul. 2018. 5G-related projects in the domain of media
[30] ITU-T Recommendation I.112, “Vocabulary of Terms for ISDNs”, Mar. distribution and contribution, being the H2020 5G-Xcast and 5G-
1993. Solutions the most recent. He has been actively contributing to the
[31] 3GPP TR 21.905 v15.1.0, “Vocabulary for 3GPP Specifications (Release 3GPP RAN working groups for the standardization of LTE/5G
15)”, Dec. 2018. Broadcast and participating in different project groups of the EBU
[32] 3GPP TS 38.300 v15.5.0, “NR; NR and NG-RAN Overall Description; Strategic Programme on Distribution such as 5G-Deployments, which
Stage 2 (Release 15)”, Mar. 2019.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BROADCASTING 12

he chairs. Dr. Gimenez has a wide experience on terrestrial broadcast Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, Germany, the Sergio Arboleda
technologies, in particular on physical layer aspects and network University of Bogota, Colombia, the New Jersey Institute of
planning. He has contributed to several DVB and ATSC technical Technology, USA, and the Electronics and Telecommunications
groups on next-generation terrestrial broadcast technologies such as Research Institute, South Korea. He participated in digital
time-frequency slicing, channel bonding, LDM or WiB. broadcasting standardization, including DVB-T2, T2-Lite, DVB-NGH
and, more recently, ATSC 3.0, as the Vice Chairman of the Modulation
Fasil Tesema is a senior research engineer and and Coding Ad-Hoc Group. He is the Coordinator of the 5G-PPP
simulation expert at Nomor Research GmbH, Project 5G-Xcast, that is, developing broadcast and multicast point-to-
based in Munich, Germany. His research multipoint capabilities for the standalone 5G New Radio and the 5G
interests are 4G and 5G mobile networks with service-enabled Core Network. His current main research interest is
a focus on radio protocols and resource the design, optimization, and performance evaluation of next
management for unicast, multicast, and generation wireless communication technologies, including
broadcast. He is a Member of the IEEE. broadcasting.
He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON
BROADCASTING. He was the General Chair of 2018 IEEE
Symposium on Broadband Multimedia Systems and Broadcasting
Wei Guo received the B.Eng. degree in
computer communications and the Ph.D. De Mi (M’17) received the B.Eng. degree in
degree in information and communication information engineering from the Beijing
systems from the Beijing University of Posts Institute of Technology, Beijing, China, in
and Telecommunications, China, in 1997 and 2011, the M.Sc. degree in communications and
2005, respectively. Since 2005, he joined a signal processing from Imperial College
number of EU funded ICT projects under London, U.K., in 2012, and the Ph.D. degree
FP6, FP7, and Horizon 2020. He is currently from the 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC),
with the Samsung R&D Institute U.K., where Institute for Communications Systems (ICS),
he is involved in several EU funded projects. His research interests University of Surrey, U.K., in 2017. He is
include communication protocols, telecommunication network currently a Research Fellow in future wireless communications and
architectures, and deep learning application to telecommunication Academic Ph.D. Supervisor of Engineering and Physical Sciences
networks. Research Council (EPSRC) Industrial Cooperative Awards in Science
& Technology (CASE) programme at the University of Surrey. He has
David Gomez-Barquero is a Professor with been the RAN work package leader of 5G-PPP project 5G-Xcast and
the Communications Department, Project Coordinator of industrial collaborative project SoftRAN in
Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain. 5GIC/ICS. His current main research interests include air interface
He held visiting research appointments with design, multiantenna signal processing, broadcast and multicast
Ericsson Eurolab, Germany, the KTH Royal technologies, and millimetre-wave communications.
Institute of Technology, Sweden, the
University of Turku, Finland, the Technical
University of Braunschweig, Germany, the