KR101446228B1 - Apparatus and method for managing zone for mcbcs in wireless communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for operating a zone for a broadcast service. A method of operating a zone according to the present invention includes the steps of determining a service area of each service provider, configuring each service area into at least one Tx zone provided with the same contents, And configuring the entire service area of at least one service provider into at least one MBS (Multicast and Broadcast Service) zone in consideration of the Tx zone overlapping area.

Broadcasting service, broadband wireless access, service guide, zone operation

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a device and a method for operating a zone for broadcasting service in a wireless communication system,

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for providing a broadcast service in a wireless communication system, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for operating a zone for a broadcast service in a broadband wireless communication system.

Generally, a communication system has evolved mainly in voice service, and is gradually evolving into a communication system capable of not only voice but also data service and various multimedia services. However, the voice-oriented communication system has not satisfied the service needs of users who are soaring because the transmission bandwidth is relatively small and the fee for use is high. In addition, due to the development of the telecommunication industry and the increase of users' demand for the internet service, there is a growing need for a communication system capable of efficiently providing the Internet service. Accordingly, the present invention has been introduced to a broadband wireless access system for efficiently providing Internet services with a wide bandwidth sufficient to meet the needs of soaring users.

The broadband wireless access system is a system for integrally supporting not only voice but multimedia application services such as various data services of low speed and high speed and high quality video. Such a broadband wireless access system may be implemented in a mobile or fixed environment based on a wireless medium using broadband such as 2GHz, 5GHz, 26GHz, and 60GHz, a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a Public Switched Data Network (PSDN) ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) network, and the like, and is capable of supporting a channel transmission rate of 2 Mbps or higher. The broadband wireless access system can be classified into a broadband wireless access network, a broadband mobile access network, and a high-speed wireless LAN (Local Area Network) depending on the mobility (fixed or mobile) of the terminal, the communication environment (indoor or outdoor) .

The broadband wireless access system is standardized in the IEEE 802.16 standardization group of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, one of the international standardization organizations.

The IEEE 802.16 standard is capable of transmitting a large amount of data in a short time due to a wide bandwidth of data compared to a wireless technology for a conventional voice service and allowing all users to share channels (or resources) . In addition, quality of service (QoS) is ensured so that users can receive different quality services according to the characteristics of the services.

Major services of the broadband wireless access system include the Internet, Voice over IP (VoIP), and non-real-time streaming services. In addition, MCBCS (MultiCast BroadCast Service), which is a real time broadcasting service, has recently emerged as a new service. The MCBSC may be referred to as MBS (Multicast and Broadcast Service) according to the intent of the standard group and the operator. The MCBCS is advantageous in that it can serve more channels simultaneously while supporting mobility such as terrestrial DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting).

The MCBCS can provide data services such as news services, dramas, sports broadcasts, radio music broadcasts, and real-time traffic information. In addition, the MCBCS can simultaneously transmit various channels such as high-definition video and high-quality audio due to a high data rate using a macro-diversity technique. Here, the macro diversity scheme refers to transmitting the same resource and the same data at the same time for each MBS zone.

However, in order to efficiently provide the MCCBCS to a user, management of the broadcast area is more important than anything else. However, up to now, there has not been defined a configuration and operation method for the broadcasting area. Therefore, it is difficult to construct a list of contents that can be received by a user in the local area, and there is no way to construct and deliver a service guide for each region.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for operating a zone for a broadband broadcasting service.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for configuring a service area covered by one service provider into at least one MCBCS Tx zone.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for configuring a service area covered by each service provider into at least one MCBCS Tx zone and constructing an MBS zone using MCBCS Tx zones of service providers.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for configuring a zone for a broadcast service and generating a service guide based on the zone.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device and method for configuring a zone for a broadcast service and delivering the service guide for each zone.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a zone for a broadcast service, the method comprising: determining a service area of each service provider; And configuring the entire service area of at least one service provider into at least one MBS (Multicast and Broadcast Service) zone in consideration of Tx zone overlapping areas of different service providers .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a zone for a broadcast service, the method comprising: configuring an application server (AS) as a service area of the service provider into at least one Tx zone provided with the same content; Configuring a service guide for each Tx zone and configuring an entire service guide incorporating service guides for all Tx zones; and the AS providing the entire service guide to a network server (NS) of the network operator And transmitting the data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an application server for a broadcast service, the service server comprising: a service area of a service provider, the service area comprising at least one Tx zone provided with the same contents, And a communication unit for transmitting the entire service guide to the network server of the network provider. The control unit may include a service guide for the Tx zones from the zone configuring unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network server for a broadcast service, the service guide being received from each service provider, and using the received service guides, A service guide reconstructing unit configuring a service guide for each of the integrated broadcast zones configured and a service guide for unified broadcast zones from the service guide reconstructing unit; A control unit for reconfiguring the service guide, and a communication unit for transmitting the reconfigured service guide to the base station controller.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network for broadcasting service, wherein a corresponding service area is constituted by at least one Tx zone provided with the same contents, and a service guide for the Tx zone is configured, At least one application server for receiving a service guide for a Tx zone from at least one application server and using the received service guide to transmit the entire service area of different service providers to at least one And a network server configured to form a service guide for the integrated broadcast zone and deliver the service guide to a broadcast controller.

As described above, according to the present invention, by configuring a zone (MCBCS Tx zone, MBS zone) in consideration of contents that can be provided according to a location of a user in a broadband wireless communication system, a service guide There is an advantage to be able to deliver. That is, the user can confirm the list of all the contents provided in the area where the user is located, and thereby, the contents of the corresponding area can be easily received.

Hereinafter, the operation principle of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. The following terms are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and may be changed according to the intentions or customs of the user, the operator, and the like. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

Hereinafter, a method for operating a zone for a broadcast service in a broadband wireless communication system will be described.

Here, the broadcast service may be referred to as a MultiCast BroadCst Service (MCBCS) or a Multicast and Broadcast Service (MBS) according to the intent of a standard group and an operator.

In the following description, the name of the network entity (NE) is defined according to the function, and may be changed according to the intention of the standardization group and the operator. For example, the base station may be referred to as a Radio Access Station (RAS) or a Base Station (BS). In addition, the base station controller may be referred to as an ACR (Access Control Router) or an ASN-GW (Access Service Network-Gateway). Here, the ASN-GW can perform a router function as well as a base station controller function.

Hereinafter, an OFDM / OFDMA based broadband wireless communication system will be described as an example, but the present invention can be easily applied to other wireless communication systems that provide a broadcasting service.

First, the present invention defines three broadcasting areas as follows.

Service area: It is organized by a service provider (SP) and represents the entire service area for all content that can be provided by the service provider. The service area may be composed of one or more MCBCS Transmission Zones (MCBCS Tx zones), and may overlap service areas of other service providers. Meanwhile, the service area identifier (Service Area ID) may be included in the service guide and transmitted to the user through an application layer protocol (e.g., HTTP).

MCBCS Tx zone: Represents the sub area in which the same contents are provided within the service area of one service provider. The MCBCS Tx zone is organized by a service provider, and the MCBCS Tx zone base station operation is performed by an access provider (AP). The MCBCS Tx zone may be composed of one or more MBS zones and may overlap with MCBCS Tx zones of other service providers. Meanwhile, the MCBCS Tx Zone ID may be included in the service guide and transmitted to the user through the application layer protocol.

MBS zone: indicates a base station group sharing the same MCID (Multicast Connection Identifier) and SA (Security Association). The base stations in the MBS zone transmit the same contents at the same time. The MBS zone is organized and managed by an access provider (AP). The MCID, Service Flow ID, Channel ID or Logical CH ID, and MBS Zone ID can be delivered to the user in two ways. One can be delivered through the application layer protocol included in the service guide, and the other can be delivered to the user through the MAC (Media Access Protocol) layer when performing DSA (Dynamic Service Add).

A method of constructing the zone (MCBC Tx Zone, MBS Zone) based on the above definition will be described as follows.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the MCBCS Tx zone configuration according to the present invention.

As shown in the figure, when all the contents provided in the entire area of the service area are the same, the service area may be composed of one MCBCS Tx zone.

2 shows another example of the MCBCS Tx zone configuration according to the present invention.

As shown, if the content provided in the service area is different according to the region, the service area may be composed of a plurality of MCBCS Tx zones. FIG. 2 shows a case where one service area is composed of two MCBCS Tx zones.

3 shows an example of the MBS zone configuration according to the present invention.

As described above, the MCBCS Tx zone may be composed of one MBS zone, and may be divided into a plurality of MBS zones for macro diversity.

4 shows another example of the MBS zone configuration according to the present invention.

As shown, when one or more MCBCS Tx zones are overlapped, the overlap area may be composed of at least one MBS zone.

Hereinafter, an actual application example for better understanding of the present invention will be described.

Table 1 below is an example of content provided by service providers (SPs) serving the Seoul and Bundang areas.

Service provider name Service area Service area by channel ON Media Gangbuk, Gangnam Channel 1: OCN (Gangbuk, Gangnam)
Channel 2: Onstyle (Gangbuk)
Channel 3: Ongamenet (Gangnam) Cultural broadcasting Gangnam, Bundang Channel 4: MBC (Gangnam, Bundang)
Channel 5: MBN (per minute)
Channel 6: MBC Sports (Gangnam) Seocho Broadcasting Seocho-gu Channel 7: Seocho Broadcasting (Seocho-gu)

The MCBCS Tx zone based on Table 1 is shown in Table 2 below. As shown in the following Table 2 and FIG. 4, a sub-area providing the same contents is constituted by one MCBCS Tx zone.

Service Area ID MCBCS Tx Zone ID Service area Provided content SP1 MCBCS Tx Zone 1-1 Gangbuk Channel 1, Channel 2 MCBCS Tx Zone 1-2 Gangnam Channel 1, Channel 3 SP2 MCBCS Tx Zone 2-1 Gangnam Channel 4, Channel 6 MCBCS Tx Zone 2-2 Per minute Channel 4, channel 5 SP3 MCBCS Tx Zone 3-1 Seocho-gu Channel 7

Referring to Table 2 and FIG. 5, content provided to each of Kangbook, Kangnam, Seocho, and Bundang can be confirmed. That is, regardless of the service area of the service provider, a user in strong north can receive channels 1 and 2 based on the location of the user, and a user in Gangnam can receive channels 1, 3, 4, . And users in minutes can receive channels 4 and 5, and users in Seocho can receive channels 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7. At this time, the base stations broadcasting the same content among adjacent base stations can be configured as one MBS zone in order to obtain macro diversity, so that four MBS zones can be configured as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the service guide is created by the service provider (SP) according to the MCBCS Tx zone and transmitted to the MCBCS network server (NS). According to Table 2 above, three service providers generate a total of five service guides. Then, the MCBCS network server reconfigures the service guide according to the configuration of FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 in consideration of the area where the MCBCS Tx zone is overlapped like Gangnam and Seocho. At this time, a total of four new service guides are generated, which are mapped according to MBS zones as follows.

MBS Zone 1: Service Guide 1 (MCBCS Tx Zone 1-1)

MBS Zone 2: Service Guide 2 (MCBCS Tx Zone 1-2, 2-1)

MBS Zone 3: Service Guide 3 (MCBCS Tx Zone 1-2, 2-1, 3-1)

MBS Zone 4: Service Guide 4 (MCBCS Tx zone 2-2)

The network structure according to the present invention and the operation of each NE will be described based on the above description.

FIG. 7 illustrates a network structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the network structure is largely divided into a portion operated by a service provider (SP) and a portion operated by a network operator, and a portion operated by the network operator includes a core service network (CSN) And an access service network (ASN).

The MCBCS application server (AS) 70 is operated by a service provider, and generates a service guide for the service area of the service provider and provides the service guide to the MCBCS NS 71. At this time, when the contents provided in the service area differ from one area to another, the MCBCS AS 70 configures the service area as at least one MCBCS Tx zone provided with the same contents. Then, the MCBCS AS 70 generates a service guide for each MCBCS Tx zone, constructs a full service guide for all the MCBCS Tx zones, and provides it to the MCBCS NS 71.

In addition, the MCBCS AS 70 may perform subscription management, user authentication and authorization, user group management, key management & distribution, Content protection, stream / file transmission, user interaction, and notification or alert functions. Here, the content served by the MCBCS AS 70 may be provided from a contents provider (CP) (not shown).

The MCBCS NS 71 is configured in the core service network and uses the service guides received from at least one MCBCS AP 70 to map the entire service area to an area for the same content service . That is, the geographical positions of all MCBCS Tx zones in different service areas are compared, and the entire service area is divided into areas (integrated broadcast zones) to which the same content is to be transmitted. At this time, a base station group belonging to each integrated broadcast zone can be created and managed. At this time, the unified broadcast zone may be mapped to an area for macro-diversity (e.g., MBS zone). The MCBCS NS 71 configures a service guide for each integrated broadcast zone and transmits the combined service guides to the corresponding MCBCS controller 72. In addition, the MCBCS NS 71 may perform stream and file transmission, multicast group management, and reception report management functions.

The MCBCS controller 72 is configured in an access service network (e.g., a block in the ASN_GW) and performs a packet / time synchronization function on the broadcast content. In addition, the MCBCS controller 72 constructs an MBS zone using the reconfigured service guide from the MCBCS NS 71, separates the service guide for each MBS zone, and distributes the service guide to the base stations of the MBS zone.

As shown, one service area may be composed of at least one MCBCS Tx zone, and one MCBCS Tx zone may be composed of at least one MBS zone. Here, the MCBCS Tx zones may overlap each other, and the overlap area may also be formed of at least one MBS zone.

The base station 73 transmits the broadcast content from the MCBCS controller 72 through a predetermined resource at a predetermined time. Here, BSs belonging to the same MBS zone broadcast the same content at the same time for macro-diversity. Meanwhile, the service guide is transmitted to the terminal through the application layer protocol. Accordingly, the terminal can confirm the broadcast channels (or the contents list) that can be received at the current location through the service guide.

Although not shown, a policy server, an AAA (Authentication, Authorization, Accounting) server, a network management server, and the like may be configured in the core service network.

The network reference model according to the present invention is as shown in Fig.

The functions of the respective NEs shown in FIG. 8 are the same as those of FIG. 7 described above, and the following description will focus on content flow.

Referring to FIG. 8, the content provider 75 generates and stores the content, and provides the content to the MCBCS AS 70.

The MCBSC AS 70 generates a service guide for all the content available in the service area and provides the service guide to the MCBCS NS 82 and delivers the content (stream and file) to the MCBCS NS 71 according to the service guide . In addition, the MCBSC AS 70 distributes a key for content encryption to the terminal when a service application is received from the terminal.

The MCBCS NS 71 reconfigures the service guide from the MCBCS AS 70 and delivers the reconfigured service guide to the corresponding base station controller. The MCBCS NS 71 also transfers the content (stream and file) from the MCBCS AS 81 to the base station controller ASN_GW in accordance with the service guide.

The MCBCS controller 72 in the base station controller constructs an MBS zone using a service guide from the MCBCS NS 71, separates the service guide for each MBS zone, and forwards each service guide to base stations in the MBS zone do. In addition, the MCBCS controller 72 transmits the content from the MCBCS NS 71 to the base station 73 in a packet and time synchronization manner.

The base station 73 maps packet / time synchronized broadcast content from the base station controller to a predetermined resource at a predetermined time, and broadcasts the broadcast content to the terminal 74.

Meanwhile, the service guide is transmitted to the terminal 74 through an application layer protocol. Accordingly, the terminal 74 can confirm the broadcast channels (or the contents list) that can be received at the current location through the service guide. That is, the terminal 74 displays a content list according to the service guide on the display window, and delivers the corresponding content request to the MCBCS AP 70 according to the request of the user. Then, the MCBCS AP 70 forwards the key for content encryption to the terminal 74, and then the terminal 74 decrypts the received content with the key and reproduces the content.

FIG. 9 shows a configuration of an MCBCS application server AS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The MCBCS AS 70 includes a control unit 900, a communication unit 902, a content storage unit 904, an MCBCS Tx zone configuration unit 906, and a service guide storage unit 908. Here, it is assumed that the communication unit 902 performs the physical layer processing and the processing for the higher protocol layer is performed in the control unit 900. [

9, the communication unit 902 processes the transmission packet from the control unit 900 by physical layer processing, processes the received packet by physical layer, and provides the received packet to the control unit 900.

The controller 900 controls the overall operation of the MCBCS AS 70 and takes charge of protocol processing. The control unit 900 stores the content from the content server 75 in the content storage unit 904 and selects the content from the content storage unit 904 according to the service guide and transmits the selected content to the MCBCS NS 71 .

The MCBCS Tx zone configuration unit 906 configures the service area into at least one MCBCS Tx zone in which the same content is provided when the content provided in the service area is different according to the region. The MCBCS Tx zone configuration unit 906 generates a service guide for each MCBCS Tx zone and provides the service guide to the control unit 900.

Then, the controller 900 integrates service guides for all MCBCS Tx zones to compose an entire service guide and stores the entire service guide in the service guide storage unit 908. The MCBCS NS (902) 71).

FIG. 10 shows a configuration of an MCBCS network server NS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The MCBCS network server 71 includes a control unit 1000, a communication unit 1002, a content storage unit 1004, a service guide storage unit 1006, an integrated broadcast zone configuration unit 1008, (1010). Here, it is assumed that the communication unit 1002 performs the physical layer processing and the processing for the higher protocol layers is performed by the control unit 1000. [

Referring to FIG. 10, the communication unit 1002 processes the transmission packet from the control unit 1000 by the physical layer, processes the received packet in the physical layer, and provides the received packet to the control unit 1000.

The control unit 1000 controls the overall operation of the MCBC NS 71 and takes charge of protocol processing. The control unit 1000 stores the content received from the MCBCS AS 70 in the content storage unit 1004 and selects the content from the content storage unit 1004 according to the service guide and transmits the selected content to the MCBCS controller 72 do. In addition, the control unit 1000 receives a service guide for a corresponding service area from each MCBCS AS, and provides the received service guides to the integrated broadcast zone configuration unit 1008. Here, it is assumed that the MCBCS AS 70 periodically provides the service guide to the MCBCS NS 71 or provides the service guide whenever the service guide update occurs.

The integrated broadcast zone configuration unit 1008 divides the entire service area into at least one integrated broadcast zone using service guides of different service areas from the controller 1000. [ That is, considering the overlapping area of all MCBCS Tx zones in different service areas, the entire service area is divided into regions (integrated broadcast zones) serving the same contents. For example, when the area of the MCBCS Tx zone 2 in the service area 1 overlaps the area of the MCBCS Tx zone 1 in the service area 2, the two MCBCS Tx zones are mapped to one integrated broadcast zone.

The service guide reconstruction unit 1010 constructs a service guide for each integrated broadcast zone using the integrated broadcast zone configuration information from the integrated broadcast zone configuration unit 1008 and provides the service guide to the control unit 1000. That is, a list of contents that can be provided in each unified loss zone is provided to the controller 1000. Then, the control unit 1000 reconstructs the service guide by integrating the service guides for the integrated broadcast zones, and stores the reconstructed service guide in the service guide storage unit 1006. Also, the controller 1000 transmits the reconfigured service guide to the MCBCS controller 72 in the ASN GW.

11 shows a configuration of a base station controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, the MBSC controller 110 includes a control unit 1100, a communication unit 1102, a content storage unit 1104, a service guide storage unit 1106, an MBS zone configuration unit 1108, (1110). Here, it is assumed that the communication unit 1102 performs the physical layer processing and the processing for the higher protocol layers is performed by the control unit 1100. [

11, the communication unit 1102 processes the transmission packet from the control unit 1100 in a physical layer, processes the received packet in the physical layer, and provides the received packet to the control unit 1100.

The controller 1100 controls the overall operation of the base station controller and is responsible for protocol processing. The control unit 1100 stores the content received from the MCBCS NS 71 in the content storage unit 1104 and selects the content from the content storage unit 1104 according to the service guide and transmits the selected content to the base stations in the corresponding MBS zone do. At this time, the control unit 1100 synchronizes the content with the packet and time-synchronized and delivers the content to the base stations in the MBS zone.

In addition, the controller 1100 provides the MBS zone configuration unit 1108 with the service guide received from the MCBCS NS 71. [ Then, the MBS zone configuration unit 1100 configures the MBS zone using the service guide. The service guide disassembler 1110 separates the service guide into MBS zones using the MBS zone configuration information from the MBS zone configuration unit 1100 and provides the service guide for each MBS zone to the control unit 1100. [

Then, the control unit 1100 stores the service guide for each MBS zone in the service guide storage unit 1106. FIG. Also, the controller 1100 transmits the service guide for each MBS zone to the base stations belonging to the MBS zone.

12 shows an operation procedure of the MCBCS AS according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 12, in step 1201, when contents provided in the service area are different according to regions, the MCBC AS 70 groups all the provided contents by area. For example, when three broadcasting channels in the service area are served, channels 1 and 2 are served in the Gangbuk area, while channels 2 and 3 are served in the Gangnam area, Groups 2 and 3 by Gangnam standard.

Then, in step 1203, the MCBC AS 70 defines an area corresponding to each of the groups as an MCBCS Tx zone. That is, Gangbuk area is defined as MCBCS Tx zone 1, and Gangnam area is defined as MCBCS Tx zone 2.

In step 1205, the MCBC AS 70 configures a service guide for each MCBCS Tx zone. That is, a list of serviceable broadcast channels is configured in the corresponding MCBCS Tx zone. In step 1207, the MCBC AS 70 constructs a full service guide for all MCBCS Tx zones, and in step 1209, the MCBC AS 70 transmits the entire service guide to the MCBCS NS 71.

13 shows an operation procedure of the MCBCS NS according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 13, the MCBCS NS 71 receives a service guide for a service area from each MCBCS AS in step 1301. Herein, the service guide may include a service guide for at least one MCBCS Tx zone.

In step 1303, the MCBCS NS 71 divides the entire service area into at least one integrated broadcast zone using service guides of different service areas. That is, the geographical positions of all the MCBCS Tx zones in different service areas are compared, and the entire service area is classified into regions (integrated broadcast zones) serving the same contents.

In step 1305, the MCBCS NS 71 forms a service guide for each integrated broadcast zone. In step 1307, the MCBCS NS 71 reconfigures the service guide by combining the service guides, and transmits the reconfigured service guide to the MCBCS controller 72 in step 1309. [ At this time, a header is added in front of the reconfigured service guide so that the service guide can be separated again.

FIG. 14 shows an operation procedure of the MCBCS controller according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 14, the MCBCS controller 72 receives a service guide from the MCBCS NS 71 in step 1401. FIG. Here, the service guide may include a service guide for at least one integrated broadcast zone.

In step 1403, the MCBCS controller 72 refers to the received service guide to configure an MBS zone. Herein, the unified broadcast zone may be directly mapped to the MBS zone, and one unified broadcast zone may be composed of a plurality of MBS zones. In step 1405, the MCBCS controller 72 decomposes the received service guide into MBS zones using header information.

Then, in step 1407, the MCBCS controller 72 transmits the disassembled service guide for each MBS zone to the base stations of the corresponding MBS zone.

FIG. 15 shows a service guide transmission procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

15, in step 1301, the MCBCS AS 70 configures a corresponding service area into at least one MCBCS Tx zone, and constructs an entire service guide by integrating service guides for all MCBCS TX zones.

In step 1303, the MCBCS AS 70 transmits the entire service guide for the service area to the MCBCS NS 71. Here, the MCBCS NS 71 may receive a service guide from at least one MCBCS AS 70.

Meanwhile, in step 1305, the MCBCS NS 71 divides the entire service area into regions (unified broadcast zones) serving the same contents using service guides of different service areas received from a plurality of MCBCS ASs. That is, by comparing the geographical positions of all the MCBCS Tx zones in different service areas, the entire service area is configured as at least one integrated broadcast zone. The MCBCS NS 71 configures a service guide for each integrated broadcast zone, and reconfigures the service guide by combining the configured service guides. In step 1307, the MCBCS NS 71 transmits the reconfigured service guide to the MCBCS controller 72 in the base station controller.

Then, in step 1309, the MCBCS controller 72 configures the MBS zone using the service guide from the MCBCS NS 71. At this time, a base station group belonging to each MBS zone is generated. Thereafter, the MCBCS controller 72 decomposes the service guide into MBS zones. In step 1311, the MCBCS controller 72 transmits the disassembled service guide for each MBS zone to the base stations of the corresponding MBS zone.

If the base station controller can not interpret the application layer message (service guide), it is impossible to configure the MBS zone using the service guide. Accordingly, the MCBCS NS 71 transmits the unified broadcast zone configuration information to the base station controller (MCBCS controller). In addition, the service guide configured in the MCBCS NS 71 is directly transmitted to the terminal through the application layer protocol. In this case, since the service guide includes service guides for all the MBS zones, the UE can recognize the MBS zone to which it belongs, and can select and play only the service guide of the MBS zone.

FIG. 16 shows an actual application example to help a better understanding of the present invention.

As an example based on Table 2 above, three service providers (MCBCS AS1, MCBCS AS2, and MCBCS AS3) construct a service guide for each MCBCS Tx zone and transmit them to MCBCS NS. At this time, the service provider 1 (MCBCS AS1) constitutes a service guide for each of the MCBCS Tx Zone 1-1 and MCBCS Tx Zone 1-2, and the service guide 1 (SG1: Service Guide 1 ) To MCBCS NS. Similarly, service guide 2 (MCBCS AS2) constructs a service guide for each of Gangnam (MCBCS Tx Zone 2-1) and Bundang (MCBCS Tx Zone 2-2), and the Service Guide 2 (SG2) NS, and Service Provider 3 (MCBCS AS3) also constructs Service Guide 3 (SG3) for MCBCS Tx Zone 3-1 and sends it to MCBCS NS.

Then, the MCBCS NS compares service guides from the three service providers and divides the entire service area into unified broadcast zones. At this time, the whole service area can be divided into four regions such as Kangbuk, Gangnam, Bundang, Seocho-gu. In addition, the MCBCS NS constitutes a service guide for each area. That is, service guides (SG'1, SG'2, SG'3, and SG'4) are configured for each of Gangbuk, Gangnam, Seocho, and Bundang. The MCBCS NS reconfigures the service guide by combining the service guide for each region as shown, and transmits the reconfigured service guide to the ASN GW. At this time, the reconstructed service guide is preceded by header information so that the service guide for each region can be separated again.

As another example, as shown, the MCBCS NS reconstructs the service guide by combining all the MCBCS TX zone-specific service guides received from the three service providers, and transmits the reconstructed service guide to the base station controller. In this case, the MCBCS controller in the base station controller can configure the MBS zone using the service guide, reconfigure the service guide for each MBS zone, and transmit the service guide for each MBS zone to the base stations belonging to the MBS zone .

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the MCBCS Tx zone is configured in the MCBCS application server AP, the unified broadcast zone is configured in the MCBCS network server NS, and the MBS zone is configured in the base station controller. However, The invention is not limited to a particular network entity. That is, the zone management and service guide delivery method according to the present invention can be variously implemented according to the network structure.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is capable of various modifications within the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited by the illustrated embodiments, but should be determined by the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of a configuration of an MCBCS Tx zone according to the present invention. FIG.

2 is a view showing another example of the MCBCS Tx zone configuration according to the present invention;

3 is a view showing an example of the MBS zone configuration according to the present invention.

4 is a view showing another example of the MBS zone configuration according to the present invention.

5 is a view showing an application example of the present invention.

6 is a view showing an example of an MBS zone configuration according to the application example of FIG.

7 illustrates a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 illustrates a network reference model according to the structure of Figure 7;

9 is a diagram showing a configuration of an MCBCS application server AS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a diagram showing the configuration of an MCBCS network server NS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a base station controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of an MCBCS AS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

13 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of the MCBCS NS according to the embodiment of the present invention.

14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of an MCBCS controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

15 is a diagram illustrating a service guide transmission procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

16 is a view showing an actual application example for facilitating a better understanding of the present invention.

Claims (25)

A method of operating a zone for a broadcast service, Determining a service area of each service provider; Configuring each service area into at least one Tx zone (Transmission Zone) provided with the same contents; And configuring the entire service area of at least one service provider into at least one MBS (Multicast and Broadcast Service) zone considering Tx zone overlapping areas of different service providers. The method according to claim 1, One service area is composed of at least one Tx zone, and one Tx zone is composed of at least one MBS zone. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the service area and the Tx zone are configured by a service provider. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the base stations belonging to the Tx zone and the MBS zone are configured by a network operator. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the MBS zone is a base station group that transmits the same content at the same time in the same manner. A method of operating a zone for a broadcast service, Comprising the steps of: configuring a service area of an application server (AS) as at least one Tx zone in which the same content is provided; The AS configuring a service guide for each Tx zone and configuring an entire service guide incorporating service guides for all Tx zones, Wherein the AS comprises transmitting the entire service guide to a network server of a network operator. The method according to claim 6, Receiving, by the NS, a service guide from at least one AS; The NS configuring the entire service area into at least one integrated broadcast zone in which the same contents are served using the service guides of the received different service areas; The NS configuring a service guide for each integrated broadcast zone and reconfiguring the service guide by combining the configured service guide; Wherein the NS further comprises transmitting the reconfigured service guide to a base station controller. 8. The method of claim 7, Receiving, by the base station controller, a service guide from the NS; Wherein the base station controller configures an MBS zone using the received service guide, Wherein the base station controller comprises: decomposing the received service guide for each MBS zone; Further comprising the step of the base station controller transmitting the service guide for each MBS zone to the base stations belonging to the MBS zone. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the AS is operated by a service provider. 9. The method of claim 8, Wherein the base station controller comprises a MultiCast BroadCast Service (MCBCS) controller for processing a broadcast service. 9. The method of claim 8, Wherein the MBS Zone-Specific Service Guide is delivered to a terminal through an application layer protocol The method according to claim 6, Wherein the identifier of the service area and the identifier of the Tx zone are included in the service guide and transmitted to the terminal through the application layer protocol. An application server for a broadcast service, A zone configuration unit configured to configure a service area of a service provider as at least one Tx zone provided with the same contents and to generate a service guide for each Tx zone, A controller configured to integrate service guides for Tx zones from the zone configuring unit to form an overall service guide; And a communication unit for transmitting the entire service guide to a network server of the network provider. 14. The method of claim 13, Wherein the application server is an MCBCS AS (MultiCast BroadCast Service Application Server). 14. The method of claim 13, Wherein the application server is operated by a service provider. 14. The method of claim 13, Wherein the identifier of the service area and the identifier of the Tx zone are included in the service guide and transmitted to the terminal through the application layer protocol. A network server for a broadcast service, A zone configuration unit configured to receive a service guide from each service provider and configure the entire service area of different service providers as at least one integrated broadcast zone in which the same contents are served using the received service guides; A service guide reconstructing unit configuring a service guide for each of the integrated broadcast zones configured; A control unit for reconfiguring a service guide by integrating service guides for unified broadcast zones from the service guide reconfiguring unit; And a communication unit for transmitting the reconfigured service guide to the base station controller. 18. The method of claim 17, Wherein the network server is an MCBCS NS (MultiCast BroadCast Service Network Server). 18. The method of claim 17, Wherein the network server is operated by a network operator. 18. The method of claim 17, Wherein a header is added in front of the reconfigured service guide so that the service guide can be separated into regions. 18. The method of claim 17, Wherein the service guide received from the service provider comprises a service guide for at least one MCBCS Tx zone. A base station controller for a broadcast service, A zone configuration unit for receiving a service guide from a network server of a network operator and configuring an MBS zone using the received service guide, A controller for separating the service guide into MBS zones using the MBS zone configuration information; And a communication unit for transmitting a service guide for each MBS zone to base stations belonging to the MBS zone. 23. The method of claim 22, Wherein the MBS zone service guide is transmitted to the UE through an application layer protocol. A network for a broadcast service, At least one application server configuring a corresponding service area into at least one Tx zone provided with the same contents, configuring a service guide for the Tx zone and delivering the service guide to a network server of the network operator, Receiving a service guide for a Tx zone from at least one application server and configuring the entire service area of different service providers as at least one integrated broadcast zone in which the same contents are served using the received service guide, And a network server configured to form a service guide for a broadcast zone and transmit the service guide to a broadcast controller. 25. The method of claim 24, Further comprising a broadcast controller configured to configure an MBS zone using a service guide from the network server and to transmit the MBS zone-specific service guide to base stations belonging to the MBS zone.

Images