US veteran broadcaster would rather choose 5G Broadcast than ATSC 3. A jackpot.
A veteran broadcast TV executive, says he keep reading that linear broadcasting is in an inevitable decline, but it doesn’t have to be. The jackpot market that can save the industry is the ability to broadcast and datacast directly to wireless mobile devices including 300 million-plus smartphones and over 200 million tablets in the U.S. But we have to be smart about the technology choice we make to get us there, continues Preston Paddenis.
Read more below why he believes 5G Broadcast is the best choice also in the US. Also read an item about a US Broadcaster petitions FCC to commercialize 5G Broadcast.
The 3GPP is a global standards organization that controls the technology that can be built into mobile devices. All mainstream wireless device manufacturers adhere to the 3GPP standards. 3GPP approves only global standards, not regional standards. ATSC is a regional standard and has not been approved by 3GPP. Sinclair and others have tried, valiantly but unsuccessfully, to get ATSC added to the 3GPP standard. And I believe that the prospect of 3GPP changing its mind is nil.
The 3GPP standards do include a broadcast technology: 5G broadcast. Broadcasters that utilize 5G broadcast technology can broadcast to 5G broadcast TVs and can broadcast and datacast directly to 3GPP mobile devices. And new chips promise to increase the throughput of 5G broadcast to the point that it will exceed ATSC 3.0.
5G broadcast is taking off in Europe, and 3GPP has approved a new spectrum band that includes all US UHF broadcast channels.Recently the broadcast industry announced a plan to force a transition to ATSC 3.0. It includes requiring consumers to buy new TVs, converter boxes or dongles that receive 3.0. But at the end of that transition, broadcasters still will not be able to broadcast or datacast directly to the half-billion devices waiting to receive broadcast programming and data and breathe exciting and lucrative new life into the industry.
Paddenis made a suggestion that he recognized will be unwelcome by all those who have worked so hard to make ATSC 3.0 a reality: If we are going to put consumers and the industry through a wrenching and difficult transition, wouldn’t it make more sense to transition to a technology that would open a vast new market for the broadcast industry and end all the talk about inevitable decline? That technology is 5G broadcast says Paddenis.
Preston Paddenis a veteran broadcast TV executive, having worked at Metromedia, The Association of Independent Television Stations, Fox Broadcasting Co., American Sky Broadcasting (merged into Dish Network), ABC Television Network and Walt Disney Co.
US Broadcaster petitions FCC to commercialize 5G Broadcast
In a groundbreaking move, LPTV Broadcasters Association member HC2, a major US broadcaster operating over 250 stations, has filed a petition with the FCC, the US government communications regulating authority, to recognize 5G Broadcast as an official TV broadcast standard. If approved, this will mark the first commercial licensing of 5G Broadcast in the world! This development could propel the US to the forefront of next-generation broadcasting, setting a benchmark for other markets to follow.
This Petition proposes that Low Power Television (“LPTV”) stations be permitted to use the 5G Broadcast transmission standard on a voluntary basis. 5G Broadcast thus provides both the spectrum efficiency of the one-to-many structure of broadcast operations and access to compatible mobile devices on existing 5G networks. LPTV stations utilizing 5G Broadcast are poised to deliver numerous benefits across multiple services, including enhanced programming, datacasting, connectivity, and public safety.
Bringing the benefits of increased 5G services would require very few rule modifications. The rule changes proposed in this Petition are limited to incorporating the 5G Broadcast standard into the rules and authorizing its use by LPTV stations on a voluntary basis.
This proposal is purposefully limited to LPTV stations, which historically have been viewed as testbeds for the broadcast service. For too long, broadcasters have been restricted by the FCC from making market-based decisions that will allow their businesses to be more viable and benefit the public. From a policy standpoint, the Commission should encourage market-driven innovation by allowing LPTV stations to use the 5G Broadcast transmission standard on a voluntary basis if they elect do so.
Read more
A Jackpot Awaits TV In 5G Broadcast (TVNewsCheck)
US Broadcaster petitions FCC to commercialize 5G Broadcast (5G Broadcast Collective)