New technology breakthrough at exhibition in Amsterdam
Netherlands will join other European countries in order to get the new digital terrestrial radio and television system on air. At IBC2025, public broadcaster NPO and broadcast provider Broadcast Partners are showcasing a live 5G Broadcast transmission, highlighting the latest developments in over-the-air media delivery and announcing a nationwide field trial in the Netherlands set to begin in Q4 this year.
5G Broadcast enables live TV, radio and media content to be transmitted over-the-air directly to smartphones without consuming mobile data and without dependencies on mobile telecom networks. The technology uses a separate frequency band to efficiently deliver one signal to all users simultaneously. As the spreading of the media works completely independent from the internet and mobile infrastructures, the technology is excellent for future emergency communications; and is already compatible with the current LTE (Further Enhanced) standard and can be integrated into future smartphones with relative ease and low cost.
September 12-15, the TV channel NPO 1 and radio station NPO 3FM were broadcast from the 150 m high Cellnex RAI Amsterdam tower. The signal was receivable both indoors and outdoors on compatible devices in the UHF 600 MHz band throughout the IBC venue.
The demonstration was technically facilitated by Cellnex’ Broadcast Partners, in collaboration with Nakolos and TRedess, who provide the infrastructure, software, and hardware for the complete 5G Broadcast setup.
Jildert de Groot, Chief Technology Officer at NPO says 5G Broadcast delivers live media to smartphones without using mobile data and ensures reliable communication, especially in emergencies. Together with the Dutch regulator RDI, Broadcast Partners and Cellnex Netherlands, we will launch a synchronized, year-long 5G Broadcast field trial across multiple high-tower locations starting in Q4 2025. This marks a significant step toward future nationwide deployment.
LTE-based 5G Broadcast has been developed for more than five years. The system has been on field trials in several countries globally as in Austria, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, UK, China, South Korea and the US. In most trials linear radio and linear television have been broadcast.
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