Random Network Coding for Multimedia Delivery over LTE-Advanced

Random Network Coding (RNC) has recently been investigated as a promising solution for reliable multimedia delivery over wireless networks. Based on Random Linear Codes (RLC) and their systematic, sparse and Unequal Error Protection (UEP) extensions, RNC possess the potential for flexible and adaptive matching of packet-level error resilience to both video content importance and variable wireless channel conditions. As the demand for massive multimedia delivery over 4G wireless cellular standards such as LTE/LTE-A increases, novel video-aware transmission techniques are needed. In this paper, we investigate RNC as one such promising technique. In contrast to the normal use of RNC as an application layer technique (AL-RNC), this paper focuses on RNC integration within the MAC layer (MAC-RNC) of the LTE/LTE-A Radio Access Network (RAN). The paper argues that the proposed MAC-RNC solution could successfully replace the current MAC layer HARQ error resilience mechanism while providing new opportunities for content awareness, resource allocation and UEP which are fundamental for efficient wireless multimedia delivery.