Convergence of a Terrestrial Broadcast Network and a Mobile Broadband Network

With the proliferation and diversification of mobile communication services, the current mobile broadband networks face severe challenges. The progressive video service that will make up the majority of future network traffic has more demands for transmission bandwidth, network capacity, and management flexibility. Moreover, denser connectivity, higher reliability, lower latency, and better interaction impose some great challenges to existing networks. In order to meet these growing demands, a promising approach is to integrate a broadcast network with a cellular network. In this article, we briefly set forth the latest progress on the cellular network and the broadcast network, respectively. Then the logic architecture of the integrated network is given to clarify the functional partitioning. In addition, the physical architecture of the integrated network is presented to enable coordination in different aspects. Some feasible strategies are discussed and several promising technologies are presented.