There has been an exponential increase in the usage of multimedia services in mobile networks in recent years. To address this accelerating data demand, mobile networks are experiencing a subtle transformation in their architecture. One of the changes in this direction is the support of Multicast/Broadcast Service (MBS) in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) network. The MBS has been introduced to enhance resource utilization and user experience in 3GPP 5G networks. However, there are certain limitations in the 3GPP 5G MBS architecture, such as the selection of the delivery method (unicast or broadcast) by the core network (may result in sub-optimal radio resource utilization) and no provision for converging non-3GPP broadcast technologies (like digital terrestrial television) with cellular (3GPP 5G) broadband. In this context, we propose a new architecture for broadcast broadband convergence in mobile networks. A novelty of the architecture is that it treats signalling exchange with User Equipment (UE) as data (service) which results in improved scalability of mobile networks. The proposed architecture can also be extended for the convergence of cellular broadband and non-3GPP broadcast networks with ease. The architecture supports enhanced flexibility in choosing a delivery method (3GPP 5G unicast, 3GPP 5G broadcast, or non-3GPP broadcast) for user data. We evaluate the performance of the proposed architecture using process algebra-based simulations, demonstrating a significant reduction in the number of signalling messages exchanged between the UE and the network for MBS session establishment as compared to the 3GPP 5G network.

翻译：近年来，移动网络中多媒体服务的使用呈指数级增长。为应对这一加速增长的数据需求，移动网络架构正经历微妙的转型。其中一项变革是在第三代合作伙伴计划（3GPP）第五代（5G）网络中支持多播/广播服务（MBS）。引入MBS旨在提升3GPP 5G网络的资源利用率与用户体验。然而，3GPP 5G MBS架构存在若干局限，例如由核心网选择传输方式（单播或广播）可能导致次优的无线资源利用率，且未能实现非3GPP广播技术（如数字地面电视）与蜂窝（3GPP 5G）宽带的融合。在此背景下，我们提出了一种面向移动网络广播宽带融合的新架构。该架构的创新之处在于将用户设备（UE）的信令交互视为数据（服务），从而提升移动网络的可扩展性。所提架构还可便捷地扩展至蜂窝宽带与非3GPP广播网络的融合。该架构支持在用户数据传输方式（3GPP 5G单播、3GPP 5G广播或非3GPP广播）的选择上实现更高的灵活性。我们采用基于进程代数的仿真对所提架构的性能进行评估，结果表明，与3GPP 5G网络相比，该架构在MBS会话建立过程中显著减少了UE与网络之间交换的信令消息数量。