Launch in Barcelona signals an upcoming mass market.
At the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, XGN Global (USA) and X1 Mobile (Ireland) have presented the world's first commercial smartphone capable of receiving 5G BROADCAST. The X1 Mobile 5G Broadcast Rugged Smartphone has been specifically designed for emergency services and to deliver enhanced broadcast content in demanding environments where traditional mobile networks may be congested or unavailable.
5G BROADCAST is conceived as a transformative terrestrial technology that aims to enable the direct delivery of live TV, radio and emergency information to compatible devices without requiring a mobile subscription or consuming mobile data. Its goal is to leverage existing broadcast infrastructure for efficient coverage over a larger entire area. (Read much more below)
The rugged smartphone is designed to enable emergency services to receive emergency alerts in under ½ second, along with features such as robust, subscription-free access to critical alerts, encrypted communication and real-time information delivery even when mobile networks are down or congested.
The first model of this smartphone with 5G BROADCAST is a European variant that supports the majority of European TV frequencies (UHF 470-700 MHz) and will be available from May 2026. A related customer premises equipment (CPE) device is planned to follow in Q3 2026. X1 Mobile will then launch a US-specific model in Q3 2026 that can receive US broadcast frequencies.
Many modern mobile chips (e.g. Qualcomm) already support 5G BROADCAST in hardware, but manufacturers have not yet enabled it in phones. Previously presented smartphones with 5G BROADCAST have been test or pilot models, including those that were used in field trials in hundreds at the Paris Olympics this summer and the recently concluded Milan-Cortina Olympics. Here, specially adapted established models such as the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra and Motorola Edge 50 Ultra were used.
The X1 Mobile 5G Broadcast Phone will be the first commercial model for the mass market that is expected to take off around 2028. It is a matter of survival for television companies in particular to be able to demonstrate an expanded and more efficient use of their part of the UHF band before the international frequency conference in 2032, which mobile operators otherwise want to take over.
Today, smartphones cannot be used to receive television via terrestrial broadcasts with current technology (DVB-T2). Also terrestrial digital radio (such as DAB) is not accessible in smartphones. With 5G BROADCAST both radio and television will for the first time be accessible in smartphones.
5G BROADCAST has been developed and tested in some 25 countries since 2019. Today Austria, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, China, India, Malaysia and South Korea are leaders. French telecom and broadcast operator TDF plans to roll out 5G BROADCAST in 2028.
Also read
The first commercial 5G Broadcast smartphone enters the market (TMBroadcast)
Report: New Future for Terrestrial Digital Broadcasting
A New Terrestrial Broadcasting Platform Envisioned
Strong Support For Retaining Crucial Frequency Band for European Broadcasters