Hamid Aghvami

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.

By focusing on multiple access for mobile communication systems, with a specific interest in access arbitration through multiple access protocols at the MAC (Medium Access Control) layer, the authors explain how packet-voice and packet-data traffic can be supported efficiently in mobile communication systems. This is approached from a theoretical point of view and from the context of existing systems such as GPRS and UMTS. The evolution of mobile communications from 1G to 3.5G and possible 4G scenarios are discussed. Examines the suitable MAC strategies for the support of packet-data on shared and common channels Describes the physical and logical channels in GSM, HSCSD and GPRS and examines the GPRS air interface features, including EGPRS and Release 4/5 enhancements Documents the authors extensive research efforts on PRMA-based protocols for CDMA, hybrid CDMA/TDMA and TDMA air interfaces Analyses the various options for packet-data support in UMTS Release 1999 on common and dedicated channels and planned enhancements in Release 5 Summarises the challenges faced when wanting to support IP-based real-time and multimedia traffic efficiently in mobile communication systems and reviews how further evolutions of GPRS and UMTS attempt to meet these challenges Presents interesting research results on the benefits of channel access control in the context of reservation protocols If you're looking for a comprehensive discussion of multiple access protocols, taking into account the constraints and capabilities of cellular communication systems, then this is the book for you. Engineers, researchers, academics and advanced students will all find it an important and valuable reference.