16 Mobile Operators in 13 Countries are Deploying and Testing eMBMS LTE Broadcast, says GSA

GSA, the Global mobile Suppliers Association, via its LTE Broadcast (LTE Multicast) market status report reveals that at least 16 mobile network operators (MNO) are deploying or trialling the LTE Broadcast (or LTE Multicast) technology, which is known also as the evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS). These projects on LTE broadcast which is the key new feature of 3GPP LTE Release 9 are being undertaken in Australia, China, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, UAE, UK and the USA. The first LTE Broadcast service was commercially launched by KT in South Korea.in January 2014.

According to GSA, operators can manage network assets more efficiently by multicasting popular content sought by multiple subscribers, e.g. live TV broadcasts, or tailored content for sporting events in stadiums or other venues. Operators can utilise off-peak capacity to deliver new service offerings, which could include rich media caching, or managed software updates including applications updates.