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 the convergence of cellular broadband and non-3GPP broadcast 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 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，移动网络中多媒体业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着微妙的变革。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网络的资源利用率和用户体验。然而，3GPP 5G MBS架构存在某些局限性，例如由核心网选择交付方式（单播或广播）可能导致次优的无线资源利用率，以及未能实现非3GPP广播技术（如数字地面电视）与蜂窝（3GPP 5G）宽带网络的融合。在此背景下，我们提出了一种用于蜂窝宽带与非3GPP广播网络融合的新架构。该架构的创新之处在于，它将与用户设备（UE）的信令交换视为数据（服务），从而提升了移动网络的可扩展性。该架构支持在为用户数据选择交付方式（3GPP 5G单播、3GPP 5G广播或非3GPP广播）时具有更高的灵活性。我们利用基于进程代数的仿真对所提架构的性能进行了评估，结果表明，与3GPP 5G网络相比，该架构在MBS会话建立过程中UE与网络之间交换的信令消息数量显著减少。