Using Layered-Division-Multiplexing for In-Band Backhaul for ATSC 3.0 SFN and Gapfillers

Due to the rapid increase on the use of mobile devices, delivering mobile broadcasting services (TV/data) is one of the top-priority capabilities for future digital TV (DTV) systems, such as the ATSC 3.0. To improve the mobile service coverage performance for highly populated indoor and closed areas (airports, shopping malls, stadiums, etc.), it becomes necessary to deploy single-frequency-network (SFN) type low-power gapfillters, which could be very costly due to the required backhaul links. This paper proposes a novel technology to use Layered Division Multiplexing (LDM) to implement in-band backhaul to multiple SFN gapfillers. By embedding the backhaul data of the mobile services in the LDM signal structure, a low-cost SFN relay station can be implemented as the gapfiller using conventional ATSC 3.0 receivers. Since the backhaul data is delivered using the same band as the mobile service signal, the proposed technology also achieves high spectrum efficiency. Furthermore, the proposed technology can be used to implement efficient backhaul solutions in the next generation mobile broadband systems (5G and beyond).