(1) MAMBO: Multi-Services Management Wireless Network with Bandwidth Optimisation (IST-2000-26298) Beyond 3G: A Multi-Services Broadband Wireless Network with Bandwidth Optimisation George Gardikis • , Evangelos Pallis ♦ , Anastasios Kourtis ♦ • National Technical University of Athens, Mobile Radiocommunications Lab., 9 Iroon Polytechneiou, 15773 Zografou, Athens, Greece. ♦ Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, NCSR “Demokritos” 153 10 Ag.Paraskevi, Athens, Greece. e-mails: {gardikis; pallis; kourtis}@iit.demokritos.gr ABSTRACT The main goal towards which nearly all research activities in the field of digital wireless communications are oriented is the development of a global wireless access network, capable of offering real-time bandwidth-demanding multimedia applications and enabling for anytime/anywhere access. This paper proposes a wireless access network which is a result of the convergence of telecommunications and digital broadcasting, two sectors in which Europe is a global pioneer. The proposed network, whose implementation will be undertaken in the frame of the EU-funded MAMBO (1) project, can offer digital television and fast Internet access to both mobile and stationary users, while achieving bandwidth optimization through perceptive QoS estimation and transcoding algorithms. DVB-T technology is used for broadband downlink, while the uplink is based on present cellular platforms (GSM for mobile and LMDS for residential end-users). I. INTRODUCTION Telecommunications and digital broadcasting have been recognized as two sectors where Europe has acquired a significant technological and commercial leadership. Until recently, both industries have followed parallel paths, with conventional telecommunications operators being mainly interested in the technology used for information transport and delivery and traditional broadcasters being interested in content. Nowadays despite the intrinsic technological differences between these two sectors, the question is being openly asked as to the likelihood of their convergence, not only at technological level, but also at service level. Broadcasters are progressively introducing an element of interactivity in their traditional point-to-multipoint channels and telecommunications operators are confronted with traffic streams which are inherently asymmetric. Tightly related to the above developments are the phenomenal growth in mobile communications and the development of Internet based services. Broadcasters that have started to use internet as a delivery mechanism are contemplating the use mobile communications systems such as GSM (Global System for Mobile) and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) to enhance their multimedia content and mobile operators are seeking to provide user access to such content and in so doing provide a whole new range of value added services. The forthcoming 3G technologies can offer bi-directional packet-switched traffic at rates up to 384 kbps (WCDMA approach) for wide-area coverage, a bit rate sufficient for high-speed Web access, videotelephony or streaming small sized MPEG (Motion Pictures Experts Group) video clips. Third-generation platforms cannot however handle the rates needed for high quality digital video broadcasting, something that the emerging DVB-T (Digital Video Brodcasting – Terrestrial) technologies are promising. In the context of the European Community's 4th Framework Programme of Research and Development the area of Interactive Broadcasting was the subject of innovative work by a number of projects, and major contributions were made to both the development of mobile and digital broadcasting technologies. The IST (Information Society Technologies) programme recently launched in the context of the 5th Framework Programme provides further opportunities for addressing the technological and service dimensions of Interactive Broadcasting. Among the projects funded by the EU in the IST framework is MAMBO (IST-2000-26298) whose goal is to develop the network illustrated in this paper. The key objective of the MAMBO project is to develop, implement and assess an universal, open and scalable platform that manage the distribution of high quality interactive multimedia DVB / IP services through a terrestrial access network, to mobile and residential end- users by an optimal allocation of the allowable bandwidth. A distributed feed back loop bandwidth optimisation mechanism will be implemented, which is able to adapt, in real time, the bit rate of each service according to the available bandwidth and the complexity of the service, without degrading the service quality.