As part of its aim to drive technology innovation in the area of content distribution over 5G networks, Broadpeak is contributing to the 5G-Xcast and SaT5G projects, part of the Phase-2 of the 5G-PPP programme funded by the EC.

The goal of the SaT5G project is to deliver seamless, economically viable integration of satellite into 5G networks to ensure ubiquitous 5G access. The project also drives standardisation, mainly in 3GPP and ETSI, contributing to the definition of the 5G system and integration of satellite communications. In close collaboration with 15 consortium members, Broadpeak is involved in research, development, and validation of technologies required for plug-and-play integration of satcom elements into 5G networks, including testing and assessing these technologies through live test-bed demonstrations across Europe.

5G-Xcast involves convergence and service continuity between fixed and mobile networks and Broadpeak is part of the industry consortium of broadcast and multicast communication enablers for the fifth generation of wireless systems which is currently working on devising, assessing, and demonstrating large-scale immersive media delivery by means of conceptually novel wireless technologies, contributing to the further definition of 5G and its standardisation. The focus is on large-scale media distribution, as this use case is one of the most demanding requirements in terms of data rate (capacity), scalability (cost-effectiveness), and ubiquity (coverage). The 5G-Xcast media delivery solution will have built-in unicast, multicast, and broadcast modes and caching capabilities.

Broadpeak's main objective with 5G-Xcast is to drive the adaptation of its CDN solution, which currently allows content caching on fixed networks and leverages multicast capabilities of ADSL, cable, and satellite networks to the 5G mobile network. Ultimately, Broadpeak hopes to uncover the best locations inside a mobile network to cache content, determine which metrics should trigger content caching or the allocation of multicast resources in the backbone and backhaul, and examine how the streaming requests can be redirected to the most relevant caching location.

"5G networks are the future of content delivery in the mobile operator world," explained CEO Jacques Le Mancq. "With standardised 5G networks on the horizon, consumers can enjoy the highest quality of experience whether they are on the go, in the home, using an eMBMS device, or a regular smartphone."