Video is an important factor of the load in cellular networks due to the growing popularity of streaming and linear services. In unicast transmission mode, the same data is transmitted as many times as the number of receivers demanding the same video content. Conversely, in broadcast transmissions using the Single Frequency Network (SFN) technique, a set of base stations perform synchronized transmission of the same waveform to a potentially infinite number of users. The objective of this study is to compare the performance of unicast and broadcast. More precisely, we determine the minimum number of users downloading the same data from which a broadcast transmission is more efficient than multiple unicast transmissions. In this paper, a model to calculate the Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) in unicast and broadcast modes is presented, considering Poisson distributed base stations, path loss, fading, shadowing, trisectored antennas, SFN with a different number of base stations and beamforming in unicast mode. Results show that even when an SFN is formed by just 2 base stations and unicast transmissions are performed using beamforming with 8 antennas per sector, broadcast outperforms unicast when there are at least 8 users per cell demanding the same content.

Communication bandwidth and latency reduction techniques are developed for Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) protocols. DIS Protocol Data Unit (PDU) packets are bundled together prior to transmission based on PDU type, internal structure, and content over a sliding window of up to C adjacent transmission requests, for 1 < C < 64. At the receiving nodes, the packets are replicated as necessary to reconstruct the original packet stream. Bundling strategies including Always-Wait, Always-Send, Type-Only prediction, Type-Length prediction, and Type-Length-Time prediction are developed and then evaluated using both heuristic parameters and a gradient descent back-propagation neural network.Several communication case studies from the One Semi-Automated Forces (OneSAF) Testbed Baseline (OTB) are assessed for multiple-platoon, company, and battalion-scale force-on-force vignettes consistent with Future Combat Systems (FCS) Operations and Organizations (O&O) scenarios. Traffic is modeled using the OMNeT++ discrete-event simulator models and scripts developed for a hierarchical communication architecture consisting of eight en route C-17 aircraft, each carrying three Ethernet-connected M1A2 ground vehicles, a wireless flying LAN based on Joint Forces Command's Joint En route Mission Planning and Rehearsal System (JEMPRS) for Near-Term (JEMPRS-NT) and followon bandwidth capacities. The simulation traffic includes Opposing Force (OPFOR) control through a CONUS-based ground station via its corresponding satellite links. Different bandwidth capacities are simulated and analyzed for PDU travel time and slack time, router and satellite queue length, and number of packet collisions are assessed at 64 Kbps, 256 Kbps, 512 Kbps, and 1 Mbps capacities. Results indicate that a Type-Length prediction strategy is capable of improving travel time up to 85%, slack time up to 97%, and queue length up to 98% on bandwidth restricted channels of 64 Kbps.

The ever increasing demand for high quality multimedia content in mobile networks requires the implementation of techniques for efficient spectrum management. Broadcast transmission is the preferred solution for scenarios in which the same content is transmitted to many users at the same time. The objective of this study is to propose an analytical method to calculate the user threshold to switch from unicast to broadcast in order to reduce radio resource utilization. We compute the probability of coverage of a given location in a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area using tools from stochastic geometry. This expression is general and valid for a point not necessarily in the center of the MBSFN area. We use it to develop a method to calculate the user threshold analytically.