German media authority MSA has put out a tender for a pilot project for the distribution of TV channels in 5G Broadcast in the city of Halle.
The media authority confirmed this to German industry publication Cable!vision Europe. In the tender, published in state gazette of federal state Saxony-Anhalt on 29 April 2024, platform providers are invited to submit applications for the allocation of the corresponding broadcast capacity. This concerns terrestrial channel 40 at the Halle transmitter site, which is to be used to test the distribution of TV channels in 5G Broadcast.
The allocation is limited to the duration of the trial of two years with the possibility of an extension. The allocation is subject to the condition that the local TV broadcaster licensed for the distribution area is broadcast on the platform.
Applications must be submitted to the MSA within two weeks of publication of the tender. Among other things, the applicant must include the platform’s planned channel lineup and agree to prepare a report with the results of the project. The applicant must also state when transmissions can commence. According to the magazine article, the aim is to kick off the in time for the UEFA Euro 2024 Football Championship, which starts on 14 June 2024.
The pilot project in Halle marks the first time that commercial broadcasters can participate. In previous 5G Broadcast trials in Germany, only public broadcasters were involved alongside other partners, such as the 5G Today project in Bavaria (BR), the pilot project by WDR and Vodafone in North Rhine-Westphalia, the 5G Media2Go test run in Baden-Württemberg (SWR) and the test network set up by NDR and Media Broadcast in Hamburg.
5G Broadcast enables the distribution of TV and radio channels and other media content via 5G mobile networks without data consumption for the consumer, because one signal is broadcast for all reception devices, as with traditional broadcasting. A mobile phone contract or SIM card is not required. A 5G Broadcast-compatible reception device, such as a smartphone, tablet or in-car entertainment system, is sufficient. Prototypes are already available.
