Wi-Fi Multicast: Ericsson, Cisco see new tech as c
Post# of 17650
September 26, 2014
By Tammy Parker
LTE Multicast (also known as LTE Broadcast) is getting lots of attention from vendors and mobile operators for its ability to deliver live multimedia to smartphones and tablets being used by concentrated groups of people, such as those attending a sporting event or concert. And while numerous operators are laying out plans to deploy LTE Multicast, a complementary technology--Wi-Fi Multicast--has already been deployed by venue owners and is being considered by both mobile operators and cable MSOs.
In August, the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) reported that LTE Multicast has attracted the attention of at least 16 mobile network operators, which are trialing or deploying the technology in Australia, China, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.
While LTE Multicast, based on the evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS) standard, is in the early stages of being rolled out, Wi-Fi Multicast has been around for years in office WLAN environments. Its use has since been broadened to include public Wi-Fi entertainment platforms.
For example, Ericsson announced in October 2012 a stadium-optimized Wi-Fi solution for mobile operators, using Wi-Fi technology it gained in its April 2012 acquisition of BelAir Networks.
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