Resource management of multicast services over LTE

In recent years, mobile operators are observing a growing demand of multicast services over radio cellular networks. In this scenario, multicasting is the technology exploited to serve a group of users which simultaneously request the same data content. Since multicast applications are expected to be massively exchanged over Fourth Generation (4G) systems, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defined the Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) standard. MBMS allows supporting multicast services over Long Term Evolution (LTE), the 4G wireless technology able to provide high quality services in mobile environments. Nevertheless, several issues related to the management of MBMS services are still open. The aim of this chapter is to analyze the challenges in supporting multicast services over LTE with particular attention to resource management, considered the key aspect for an effective provisioning of MBMS services over cellular networks.