Analysis of Hybrid Broadcast/Broadband Networks With Multiple Broadcasting Stations

Hybrid broadcast/broadband network (HBBN) presents a potential solution to mitigate the increasing demand for mobile TV. A proper HBBN deployment alleviates the limitations that each standalone network faces, thereby enhancing the global network coverage and efficiency. In this paper, we propose to address the question of performance improvement expected from such HBBN by means of an analytical framework based on stochastic geometry modeling. To this end, we introduce a generic model of the HBBN where multiple broadcast transmitters and a broadband network are deployed in the same area, jointly offering linear services, one of the mobile TV services. Two different approaches derived from stochastic geometry are applied and compared through the analysis of what is commonly referred to as a Point Hole Process (PHP): Original Poisson Point Process (PPP), and reduced PPP. Both approaches are thoroughly analyzed to give better insights into broadcast/broadband coexistence while taking into account the inter-cell interference of both networks. Exact and simplified expressions for the key performance metrics are derived such as the probability of coverage and ergodic capacity. Those expressions are then used to numerically maximize the spectral and power efficiency of the HBBN regarding the broadcast coverage radius and transmitters' density. The results show that for a wide range of user density, the HBBN introduces gain compared to either BB or BC networks. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper presents the first work dealing with the optimization of HBBN based on such a generic model and taking inter-cell and inter-network interference into consideration.