End-to-end IP multicast for software upgrades of reconfigurable user terminals within IMT-2000/UMTS networks

The paper proposes a viable technique for performing software upgrades of reconfigurable user terminals across the entire public land mobile network (PLMN) of an IMT-2000/UMTS network. The proposed solution utilizes over-the-air software downloads in conjunction with IP multicast as the enabling technology. The paper describes in detail the interaction required between logical network elements within the PLMN in order to perform the software upgrade on a set of targeted terminals. The limitations of the proposed technique are outlined and the paper addresses possible schemes for facilitating the presented solution and improving its scalability to large networks