How 2024 has become the 5G Broadcast Olympics

Spending the last two years diving into the deep end of the pool of 5G Broadcast has been both an exhilarating and passionate experience. Being a worldwide standard under the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 5G Broadcasting brings our world together in one broadcast standard. Applications include linear programming; critical emergency alerts delivered in under half a second; innovative first responder solutions; and edge data delivery as a backup to cellular service. 5G Broadcast possibilities are limited only by one’s mind.

Transmitting

Dividing up the three main areas of the development of 5G Broadcast is explanatory. First comes the transmission side. One of the benefits is the straightforward conversion to 5G Broadcast from a traditional over-the-air broadcast chain. Assuming the transmitter is capable of OFDM, only the modulation software and exciter need to be changed. In some cases, a current exciter can simply turn off its modulation schemes and take a new external modulation input delivering IQ data. The broadcast facility can keep its current transmitter, coax, and antenna and convert to 5G Broadcast in a matter of hours with a manageable investment. This year, almost every major transmitter manufacturer is working on 5G Broadcast solutions, from 5G Broadcast leader Rhode & Schwarz, to innovators such as Televes/TRedess, and industry top guns including Gates Air, Dielectric, and the Elenos Group. As for signal processing, Ateme, commanding the gold standard, has a 5G Broadcast solution available and others are in development.

Rhode & Schwarz and Bitstem lead the way when it comes to modulator software, with Bitstem on the verge of releasing the first commercial 1.0 version of its software.

Elsewhere, 5G-MAG (Media Action Group) has been a powerful collaboration of innovation, ideas and starting solutions, while Enensys is said to be releasing a new exciter with a 5G Broadcast modulator which will surely be a quality option. To be a part of this development cycle is very exciting.

Receiving 5G Broadcast

The second area is the receiving side. In this area, Qualcomm is a market leader for direct-to-mobile, modifying commercial smartphones for 5G Broadcasting use. It is easier to convert phones for 5G Broadcast use in Europe due to the broadcast frequencies being used (3GPP band 107). For the US, smartphones require additional configuration work both on the filter and with the antenna, plus modification of the baseband chip. OEM’s are joining the 5G Broadcasting charge. At the Olympics, Xiaomi provided French Broadcaster TDF with 250 phones using Qualcomm middleware to broadcast the Olympics in 5G Broadcast to select influencers and stakeholders. Other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are joining the 5G Broadcast world. It is happening.

While direct-to-mobile is one key benefit of 5G Broadcasting, customer provided equipment (CPE) is also making huge strides. From software-defined radio (SDR) to more traditional tuner and demodulation chips, we are very close to some breakthrough solutions for 5G Broadcast delivery outside of a smartphone. There have been talks of a major television manufacturer placing a 5G Broadcast-enabled chip in a television set.

Real-world applications

The third area involves use cases and business models. The most obvious use case is the delivery of linear video and audio streams. From broadcast television to radio, 5G Broadcast can deliver direct-to-mobile. A single 720p video stream can be delivered with only 600kbps of bandwidth and will drop to 300kbps in the near future. Delivering multiple streaming linear channels, both video and audio, will be very efficient. The way linear broadcasting is consumed is rapidly changing, with high demand for live sports and certain targeted programming. 5G Broadcasting can deliver these solutions direct-to-mobile, mobile being the number one way of consuming any type of content. Besides linear video and audio delivery, perhaps the most critical solution is the ability of 5G Broadcasting to deliver emergency alerts to smartphone users in under a half second. This is a life-or-death solution that currently does not exist in a commercially available smartphone. Being able to deliver these alerts to smartphones at that speed is a critical public interest benefit - a lifesaver.

A priority use case is for public safety, first responders, and long-distance learning. A leading-edge solution for first responders would enable them to receive an encrypted video on their smartphone where they can visually see critical images originating from what a dispatch centre ingests. In developing countries, the use of 5G Broadcast to deliver long-distance learning where the internet is sparse or non-existent is a culturally defining solution.

As for business models, that is the question being asked most often. It does take some thinking outside the proverbial box. We clearly see what the business model of the future holds, however, 5G Broadcast still needs time to grow, to develop.

5G Broadcasting is still very much in its infancy and is not yet commercially available. 2025 will change that. Will that be all at once? Of course not. 5G Broadcast is still developing recipes in the kitchen and testing them on the stove. A few are ready for serving on a beta basis. 5G Broadcasting has only gained momentum and therefore attention to serious development over the last year. Even other “new” broadcast standards have been developing for over a decade. When we launched the first 24/7, 5G Broadcast station last September in Boston, our video 720p signal required 1.2 Mbps. Nine months later it is down to 600 kbps. By the end of this year, we expect to be able to deliver a 720p signal with 300 kbps. This is lightspeed development but it is still development that takes patience.

When 5G Broadcast rolls out on a commercially available basis, the benefits will be immediate: emergency alerts within half a second; critical backup, which is a public benefit for mobile network operators (MNOs) to avoid their infrastructure from going down due to heavy demand from an emergency situation; linear video and audio broadcast direct to mobile; new delivery methods for life-saving critical information being available to first responders. This is just scratching the surface of the benefits of 5G Broadcasting in the years to come.

The past two years in 5G Broadcast have been filled with passion and challenges. Starting with the challenge from a former FCC Chairman who said 5G Broadcasting could not be done, I set my sights on proving it could be done. With honour, I did receive a congratulations email after our proof of concept (POC) from that former FCC Chair. 5G Broadcasting works!

The 5G Broadcast Collective is a non-profit organisation focused on the deployment and business opportunity side of 5G Broadcast. 5G-MAG does an amazing job on the technical side. 5G Broadcast Collective with its partners is rolling out a free (plus travel expenses) POC trial to any broadcaster in the world. It will deliver a demonstration from transmitter to receiver to prove 5G Broadcasting works and is a critical solution, not just a convenience. With a worldwide standard, 5G Broadcasters need to work together to develop 5G Broadcasting’s youthful potential.

This is the year of the 5G Broadcast Olympics! 5G Broadcasting is still an amateur in the world of broadcasting, soon to evolve as a critical platform that we just did not realise we were lacking. We salute the innovation of TDF in France, being a true leader in rolling out UHD mux by 2028 and converting their national pay-tv mux by 2030. There are other broadcasters and countries following France’s lead.

Viva la 5G Broadcast!

5G Broadcast Collective (5GBC), a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing the technology of 5G Broadcast, will be exhibiting in Hall 14 (Content Everywhere) at IBC2024 in Amsterdam, stand number: 14.B17