Cellular-Broadcast Service Convergence through Caching for CoMP Cloud RANs

TL;DR

This paper proposes an integrated cellular and broadcast network leveraging caching and CoMP processing to optimize content delivery, reduce latency, and improve spectral efficiency through analytical and simulation-based methods.

Contribution

It introduces an analytical framework for optimal content caching and broadcasting decisions in a unified network using CoMP, enhancing efficiency over traditional separate systems.

Findings

Optimal content popularity threshold derived analytically

Significant spectral efficiency gains demonstrated through simulations

Unified network approach outperforms independent cellular and broadcast systems

Abstract

Cellular and Broadcast services have been traditionally treated independently due to the different market requirements, thus resulting in different business models and orthogonal frequency allocations. However, with the advent of cheap memory and smart caching, this traditional paradigm can converge into a single system which can provide both services in an efficient manner. This paper focuses on multimedia delivery through an integrated network, including both a cellular (also known as unicast or broadband) and a broadcast last mile operating over shared spectrum. The subscribers of the network are equipped with a cache which can effectively create zero perceived latency for multimedia delivery, assuming that the content has been proactively and intelligently cached. The main objective of this work is to establish analytically the optimal content popularity threshold, based on a intuitive cost function. In other words, the aim is to derive which content should be broadcasted and which content should be unicasted. To facilitate this, Cooperative Multi- Point (CoMP) joint processing algorithms are employed for the uni and broad-cast PHY transmissions. To practically implement this, the integrated network controller is assumed to have access to traffic statistics in terms of content popularity. Simulation results are provided to assess the gain in terms of total spectral efficiency. A conventional system, where the two networks operate independently, is used as benchmark.