Notifications: Simple and powerful enhancement for services over DVB-H

Notification is a service which addresses devices and users with messages or applications to be executed immediately or at specific time. Notification is important for delivering emergency, warnings and other timed messages. Recently introduced mobile broadcast is an ideal candidate for notification services due to its constant availability and potential for simultaneous addressing of very large user groups. Mobile devices also have connectivity to non-broadcast networks which allows for extended notification relying on user interaction, bringing its scope to applications requiring a response mechanism, e.g. for voting. In this paper, extensions to include notification service into the data transport system called IP Datacast (IPDC) used in the DVB-H mobile television standard are presented. The notion of notification services is first overviewed and the notification service elements complementing IPDC in DVB-H are described. Next the notification protocols and message formats are defined and the default notification channels are explained. The presented notification system reflects the current standardization status within the DVB and introduces extensions and new functionalities.