Ruckus awarded multicast-to-unicast patent

Wireless technology specialist Ruckus Wireless has been awarded a US and European patent for IP multicast-to-unicast conversion of transmissions.

IPTV networks generally use multicast technology to deliver TV signals to simultaneous recipients. However, multicast delivery is not guaranteed for 802.11-based wireless networks (because multicast signals can only be delivered using best-effort techniques without acknowledgement from the receiving devices), and multicast-to-unicast conversion is required to provide more reliable transmissions over wireless networks to other devices in the home, according to Ruckus.

Ruckus’s technology is designed to enable the movement of IPTV signals in the home over wireless connections, allowing service providers to market self-installation for example.