Enhanced Multimedia Services Based on Integrated IMS-MBMS Architecture in LTE Networks

3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network system provides higher data rate and lower delay with improved coverage and spectrum efficiency for the wireless communications which leads to more creative services emerging, especially the multimedia services. 3GPP introduced the specification of IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) which allows for cost efficient and flexible provision of enriched multimedia services over IP networks. In addition to building network environment for the multimedia service deployment, MBMS is proposed as the broadcast/multicast delivery technology. Up to now the controlling IMS and MBMS are separated subsystems. In this paper, we combine these two systems into an integrated network architecture which enables multimedia services to be deployed using MBMS specifications over IMS core network regarding the long-term vision of the 3GPP SAE/LTE architecture. Finally, the required signaling flow of some typical video services is depicted.