The German broadcast technology institution IRT aims to see if the new mobile network standard 5G is viable for large-scale TV channel delivery through a study project.
FeMBMS (Further developed Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service), a version of eMBMS, will be used in project 5G Today. A test field is now being set up in the Bavarian Oberland.
The technology companies Kathrein and Rohde & Schwarz are partners, mobile network operator Telefónica Deutschland and Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), which will run the 5G-FeMBMS broadcast network at its transmitter locations.
With the launch of 5G, a global market with millions of smartphones and tablets as potential TV reception devices could emerge, using 5G networks to access live TV, catch-up services, social networks, and other media services.
We created the broadcasting requirements for 5G alongside the EBU, BBC, RAI, SWR, and industry partners and successfully submitted them to international standards. These include a 100 percent broadcast mode and more space between transmitter sites, among other things. “As part of the 5G Today initiative, we are ecstatic to be able to install and evaluate the standardization results in a test field,” stated Jochen Mezger, IRT’s Head of Network Technology Department.
The 28-month research project combines the wide-ranging dispersion of TV signals through the big BR transmitter site Wendelstein with smaller BR transmitter sites in the Munich area. The first transmissions are expected to begin in late 2018.
“The advancements in 5G bring the standard closer to the classic specifications of a broadcasting system,” said Professor Birgit Spanner-Ulmer, Director of Production and Technology at BR. This will allow for the widespread and cost-effective transmission of television channels. As part of the 5G Today effort, we are pleased to test the future network with our current broadcast equipment.”
- Nokia and TV Azteca are experimenting with a 5G connection for television broadcasts.
- Nokia and TV Azteca conducted the first test of TV broadcasting over 5G in Latin America.
The test involved transmitting HD/4K video images straight from the cameras to TV Azteca’s encoding server, reducing video latency and increasing production efficiency and flexibility.
Mining, agriculture, industry, automotive, tourism, and entertainment are future local use cases.
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The Nokia Bell Labs Future X for Industries design provides a platform for businesses to speed up their digitization and automation journeys toward Industry 4.0. Nokia also pioneered the private wireless area in various verticals and currently has over 260 large enterprise customers using it worldwide, with over 40 of them using 5G.