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Application layer forward error correction for multicast streaming over LTE networks
Author(s) -
Bouras Christos,
Kanakis Nikolaos,
Kokkinos Vasileios,
Papazois Andreas
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of communication systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.344
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1099-1131
pISSN - 1074-5351
DOI - 10.1002/dac.2321
Subject(s) - computer science , forward error correction , multimedia broadcast multicast service , multicast , computer network , raptor code , 3rd generation partnership project 2 , network packet , fountain code , packet loss , error detection and correction , overhead (engineering) , redundancy (engineering) , real time computing , telecommunications , algorithm , decoding methods , telecommunications link , low density parity check code , error floor , operating system
SUMMARY The next step beyond third generation mobile networks is the Third Generation Partnership Project standard, named Long Term Evolution. A key feature of Long Term Evolution is the enhancement of multimedia broadcast and multicast services (MBMS), where the same content is transmitted to multiple users located in a specific service area. To support efficient download and streaming delivery, the Third Generation Partnership Project included an application layer forward error correction (AL‐FEC) technique based on the systematic fountain Raptor code, in the MBMS standard. To achieve protection against packet losses, Raptor codes introduce redundant packets to the transmission, that is, the forward error correction overhead. In this work, we investigate the application of AL‐FEC over MBMS streaming services. We consider the benefits of AL‐FEC for a continuous multimedia stream transmission to multiple users and we examine how the amount of forward error correction redundancy can be adjusted under different packet loss conditions. For this purpose, we present a variety of realistic simulation scenarios for the application of AL‐FEC and furthermore we provide an in‐depth analysis of Raptor codes performance introducing valuable suggestions to achieve efficient use of Raptor codes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.