integrated mobile broadcast (IMB)

Integrated Mobile Broadcast (IMB) is a mobile technology for broadcast transmissions such as live television. IMB technology transmits on existing transmission bands for 3rd and 4th generation( 4G) mobile transmissionsand uses mobile terminals for reception.

IMB technology has been standardized by the GSM Association( GSMA) and has been tested in pilot installations since 2010. It aims at optimizing the use of existing frequency bands for the different mobile technologies and can be integrated in Frequency Division Duplex( FDD) with Wideband Code Division Multiple Access(WCDMA) as well as in Time Division Duplex( TDD) frequency bands.

IMB technology supports linear services such as live television, as well as non-real-time services such as video-on-demand, software updates or music downloads, using licensed but unused frequency bands. For example, over ten TV channels can be transmitted in a 5 MHz band using IP multicast and appropriate compression.