Broadcast Core Network (BCN): Paving the Future Path of DTT

Terrestrial broadcasting has been considered outdated for decades because of its lack of flexibility in embracing emerging use cases on the IP media delivery landscape. Recent standardization efforts have been a turning point, bringing broadcasting technologies to the most efficient communication systems group and incorporating an IP-based protocol stack. However, a key enabler for integrating terrestrial broadcast systems as one of the IP multimedia multicast delivery choices is still missing: the development of a Broadcasting Core Network (BCN). This entity will entail innovative and more efficient management of the frequency resources assigned to the Broadcast Network Operator, maximize the capabilities of IP-based solutions, and eventually facilitate cooperation with other systems and the exposure of the broadcasting asset to additional services. In this article, we build on the latest DTT standards to explain how the 5G Core developments drive the first steps of the standardization of a BCN. The article also identifies the additional challenges that the broadcasting industry will face shortly to integrate the envisioned services, and it ends with the description of a prototype developed to furnish BCN standardization.