Boston TV station to test 5G broadcast platform

News Analysis
JEFF BAUMGARTNER, Senior Editor, Light Reading
6/23/2023

Multiple initiatives have explored using ATSC 3.0, the next-gen broadcast TV signaling standard, to bring to bear a new, national over-the-air IP pipe. But, so far, those promises have yet to evolve into tangible, real-world breakthroughs. ... Meanwhile, there's a new angle being explored that aims to combine over-the-air TV broadcasting with 5G.

A group of broadcast industry vets hope to turn that idea into reality by enabling potentially thousands of low-power TV (LPTV) stations to broadcast 5G signals. That, in turn, would put the effort in position to utilize the global 5G standard rather than the more regionally focused ATSC 3.0 standard.

The idea has grand ambitions but will start small. On June 12, Boston-based LPTV station WWOO-LD filed for an experimental license with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to test a 5G broadcast system. The system, which will use UHF frequencies, will deliver data one-way (downstream-only) and aim to complement existing interactive 5G cellular networks.

Backers of the project believe that LPTV is uniquely suited to deliver a national 5G broadcast network. Full-power TV stations cover most of the US population, but have some coverage gaps in rural areas. LPTV, created by the FCC in 1982 to provide broadcast TV opportunities in rural areas or parts of larger urban areas, provides full national coverage, including rural.

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