Multicast/broadcast delivery is a critical challenge of future 6G mobile networks where massive Internet of Things (IoT) deployment and extended reality multimedia such as teleportation are target application scenarios. Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) are considered essential for the success of 6G, which aims to provide true “global” services by extending mobile access worldwide, thus overcoming the coverage limit of current terrestrial networks (TNs). This article discusses how the main distinguishing features of NTNs can be effectively exploited for 6G multicasting. Furthermore, in line with the evolution of future 6G networks toward softwarized systems, we evaluate the potential of using the softwarization paradigm in the heterogeneous TN–NTN architecture to deliver multicast services.

中文翻译：

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6G 非地面网络组播：基于软件化的方法


组播/广播交付是未来 6G 移动网络的一项关键挑战，其中大规模物联网 (IoT) 部署和远程传输等扩展现实多媒体是目标应用场景。非地面网络（NTN）被认为是 6G 成功的关键，6G 旨在通过在全球范围内扩展移动接入来提供真正的“全球”服务，从而克服当前地面网络（TN）的覆盖限制。本文讨论如何有效利用 NTN 的主要区别特征进行 6G 组播。此外，根据未来 6G 网络向软件化系统的演进，我们评估了在异构 TN-NTN 架构中使用软件化范例来提供组播服务的潜力。