SVC multicast video mobility support in MEDIEVAL project

The foreseen explosion in online video traffic over the upcoming years has left current mobile operators struggling to maximize their networks capacity and efficiency. MEDIEVAL project aims to evolve existing architectures through relevant cross-layer interactions, permitting to deliver expected QoE levels to users. In order to alleviate the impact of online video which potentially could be shared by a group of users in the core network, as well as maximize transport efficiency, the utilization of multicast and broadcast mechanisms is proposed. Moreover, the combination of multicast and network-based mobility protocols results in new problems which must be solved necessarily through network support. By using multicasting SVC, where a video is composed by one base layer and possibly multiple dependent enhancement layers, a single session may traverse the whole core and be adapted to the different terminal's characteristics. In this article, we present the research being developed towards mobile multicast support in future networks, describing solutions for improving wireless access efficiency (in 802.11 and LTE), and for enabling IP multicast mobility support. Furthermore, the end-to-end (e2e) support provided by MEDIEVAL in a SVC-based Personal Broadcast Service (PBS) scenario is analyzed, where both mobile multicast listeners and sources participate. The interfaces enhancing mobile video support are examined, along with the key exchanged parameters.