German broadcast technology institute IRT wants to examine through a research project to what extend the new mobile network standard 5G is suitable for the large-scale transmission of TV channels.
The 5G broadcast mode FeMBMS (Further evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service), a further development of eMBMS, will be employed at the project 5G Today for which a test field is currently set up in the Bavarian Oberland region.
The partners are technology companies Kathrein and Rohde & Schwarz; associated partners are mobile network operator Telefónica Deutschland and Bavarian public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) which will operate the 5G-FeMBMS broadcast network at its transmitter sites.
With the introduction of 5G, a global market could emerge with millions of smartphones and tablets as potential TV reception devices using live TV, catch-up services, social networks and other media services through 5G networks.
“Together with EBU, BBC, RAI and SWR as well as industry partners, we have defined the broadcasting requirements for 5G and successfully submitted them to international standardisation. These include, among other things, a 100% broadcast mode and increased space between transmitter sites. We are pleased that we are now able to implement and evaluate the standardisation results in a test field in the 5G Today project,” said Jochen Mezger, Head of the Network Technology Department at IRT.
The research project, which has a duration of 28 months, combines the far-reaching distribution of TV signals through the major BR transmitter site Wendelstein with smaller BR transmitter locations in the Munich area. The first transmissions are scheduled to begin at the end of 2018.
Professor Birgit Spanner-Ulmer, Director of Production and Technology at BR, explained: “The developments in 5G bring the standard closer to the classic parameters of a broadcasting system. This will enable widespread and economic transmission of TV channels. We welcome the opportunity in the 5G Today project to test the network of the future using our existing broadcast infrastructure.”
