Method for providing multicast and/or broadcast services to user terminals

• US 20040246985A1
• Filed: 04/26/2004
• Published: 12/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kall, Jan, Elykt, Patrik, Muhonen, Ahti
• Granted Patent: US 7,672,327 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/432
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/12 using downlink control channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/40 for selective distribution or broadcast

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for providing multicast and/or broadcast services to user terminals (8, 9) via a cellular network (2, 5). In order to increase the efficiency of multicast or broadcast transmissions, it is proposed that each of said user terminals (8, 9) willing to receive content data of at least one multicast and/or broadcast service enters at least once for a pre-determined time a state in which it is capable of receiving content data of said multicast and/or broadcast service. The invention equally relates to a corresponding user terminal, to a corresponding cellular network and to a corresponding mobile radio system.

Claims

1-19. -19. (Cancelled).

20. Method for providing multicast and/or broadcast services to user terminals via a cellular network, wherein each of said user terminals willing to receive content data of at least one multicast and/or broadcast service enters at least once for a predetermined time a state in which it is capable of receiving content data of said multicast and/or broadcast service, wherein a network element of said cellular network transmits a paging message to user terminals when a multicast/broadcast router starts to deliver content data for a specific multicast or broadcast service, to which paging message user terminals, which are willing to receive content data of said specific multicast or broadcast service, can respond, and wherein said network element only transmits said content data for a specific multicast or broadcast service delivered by said multicast/broadcast router as broadcast or multicast message in a specific radio cell without a further decision on a transmission in said cellular network, in case said network element of said cellular network receives at least a predetermined number of responses from user terminals located in said radio cell.

21. Method according to claim 20, wherein at least some of said user terminals willing to receive content data of at least one multicast and/or broadcast service transmit an indication to the said cellular network that they are willing to receive content data of said at least one multicast and/or broadcast service.

22. Method according to claim 21, wherein each of said user terminals uses a dedicated PDP (packet data protocol) context for indicating that it is willing to receive content data of at least one multicast and/or broadcast service.

23. Method according to claim 21, wherein said indication that a user terminal is willing to receive content data of at least one multicast and/or broadcast service is provided to a network element of said cellular network, and wherein in case said network element receives a polling from a multicast/broadcast router which intends to transmit content data for a specific multicast and/or broadcast service, said network element responds to said polling in case there are currently user terminals that have indicated that they are willing to receive content data of said specific multicast or broadcast service, of which user terminals said predetermined time in which they are capable of receiving content data of said multicast and/or broadcast service has not passed.

24. Method according to claim 20, wherein at least some of said user terminals willing to receive content data of at least one multicast and/or broadcast service transmit an indication of a time for how long they will remain in said state in which they are capable of receiving content data of said at least one multicast and/or broadcast service to said cellular network.

25. Method according to claim 24, wherein each of said user terminals uses a dedicated PDP (packet data protocol) context for indicating said time for how long it will remain in said state in which it is capable of receiving content data of said at least one multicast and/or broadcast service.

26. Method according to claim 24, wherein said indication of a time for how long said user terminal will remain in said state in which it is capable of receiving said multicast and/or broadcast services is provided to a network element of said cellular network, and wherein in case said network element receives a polling from a multicast/broadcast router which intends to transmit content data for a specific multicast and/or broadcast service, said network element responds to said polling in case there are currently user terminals of which said indicated time has not passed.

27. Method according to claim 20, wherein user terminals, which are willing to receive content data of said specific multicast or broadcast service and for which said predetermined time has passed, can respond to said paging message.

28. Method according to claim 20, wherein at least some of said user terminals willing to receive content data of at least one multicast and/or broadcast service transmits a corresponding indication to said cellular network.

29. Method according to claim 20, wherein when a multicast/broadcast router starts to deliver content data for a specific multicast or broadcast service to said network element of said cellular network, said network element transmits a start message indicating that said multicast or broadcast session is starting, wherein user terminals which are in a state in which they are capable of receiving content data of said multicast and/or broadcast service receive said start message.

30. Method according to claim 20, wherein said paging message is a dedicated paging message for multicast and/or broadcast services.

31. Method according to claim 20, wherein said paging message contains at least a multicast or broadcast group indication indicating said specific service for which content data is to be transmitted, and/or a multicast or broadcast channel indication, indicating a radio channel that is to be employed for the transmission of said content data via the radio interface to said user terminals.

32. Method according to claim 20, wherein a user terminal, which indicated that it is willing to receive content data of said specific multicast or broadcast service but for which said predetermined time has passed and which receives said paging message, responds to a paging message after a random delay.

33. Method according to claim 20, wherein said network element of said cellular network transmits an indication that a paging is terminated after it has received at least a predetermined number of responses to said paging message, and wherein user terminals which have not yet responded to said paging message will not respond after receiving said indication that said paging is terminated.

34. Method according to claim 20, wherein in case said network element of said cellular network receives less than a predetermined number of responses from user terminals located in a specific radio cell to a paging message, it is determined in said cellular network, whether a point-to-point connection is to be established to said user terminals in said specific radio cell which responded to said paging message.

35. Network element for a cellular network comprising:

means for transmitting a paging message to user terminals when a multicast/broadcast router starts to deliver content data for a specific multicast or broadcast service, to which paging message user terminals, which are willing to receive content data of said specific multicast or broadcast service, can respond;

means for receiving responses to such a paging message by user terminals;

means for determining whether a number of received responses by user terminals to such a paging message is at least equal to a predetermined number of responses; and

means for transmitting content data for a specific multicast or broadcast service delivered by a multicast/broadcast router as broadcast or multicast message in said radio cell only without a further decision on a transmission in said cellular network, in case it was determined that the number of received responses by user terminals to such a paging message is at least equal to a predetermined number of responses.

36. Network element according to claim 35, wherein said network element is an RNC (Radio network controller) of a UMTS (universal mobile telecommunication services) cellular network.

37. Cellular network comprising a network element according to claim 35.

38. Mobile radio system comprising at least a cellular network according to claim 37 and at least a user terminal which is enabled to respond to a paging message relating to content data for a specific multicast or broadcast service, if said user terminal is willing to receive content data of said specific multicast or broadcast service.