5G Broadcast Collective to launch at NAB
April 5, 2024
XGen Network (XGN) and Milachi Media, as the founding members along with the LPTVBA, have announced the the 5G Broadcast Collective, a new Broadcast Industry non-profit to promote and help deploy 5G Broadcasting throughout the world.
5G Broadcasting is a direct to mobile platform that runs independently of any other service on a smartphone chip be it cell service, satellite, wifi, or Bluetooth. In the US, deploying 5G Broadcast consists of replacing a current exciter with 5G Broadcast exciter with modulator and 5G core software. The station’s current transmitter and antenna can stay in place. In other parts of the world, 5G Broadcast can be interlaced with ISDB and DBTV-2 to operate simultaneously and is being studied in the US for interlacing with ATSC 3.0.
5G Broadcast was successfully deployed in Boston by XGN on Milachi Media’s WWOO on September 13th, 2023 showing both a streaming channel and proof of emergency alerts being delivered to a smartphone within ½ second. The proof of concept also included a 5G Broadcast CPE receiver delivering a 1080p signal in 800 kbps using Ateme processing to a 65-inch television with pristine results. Additional experimental licences for 5G Broadcast have been issued by the FCC to XGN in Stamford, CT, Washington DC, and Las Vegas.
Milachi Media’s President Bill Christian, commented: “5G Broadcasting is an exciting new platform for broadcast television to deliver a signal directly into a smartphone. Milachi Media is committed to being on the cutting edge of technology and is proud to work with 5G Broadcast Collective to bring our worldwide 5G Broadcasters together for both streaming and emergency alerts.”
5G Broadcast Collective President/Founder, Frank Copsidas, also President/Founder of LPTV Broadcasters Association, added: “In speaking with broadcasters from around the world, interest in 5G Broadcast is strong with many countries looking at trial deployments. There is a need for an organisation to bond together the knowledge and experience of broadcasters as this exciting new technology emerges.”
5G Broadcast is in its infancy with new technology and protocols being rolled out weekly. Currently Rohde & Schwarz and SYES have 5G Broadcast solutions available to be joined with multiple vendors and solutions over the coming year. Provisioning of smartphone software to receive 5G Broadcast is projected to roll out in various locations around the world in 2025.
5G Broadcast Collective will be in the XGN booth at NAB with a live, licensed demonstration of 5G Broadcast transmitting directly into a smartphone.