Broadcom introduced the industry’s first GPS-enabled satellite outdoor unit (ODU), enabling operators to better track the location of subscriber equipment and pinpoint subscriber’s service issues in the home. The unit Broadcom’s BCM4551 satellite TV device with its BCM4771 GPS receiver.
Broadcom said its new satellite dish solution can locate and validate a subscriber’s home location. GPS technology within the low-noise block (LNB) of a subscribers’ satellite dish also allows operators to geo-lock content to subscribers. Content geo-locking uses a subscriber’s location to deliver video content specific to the subscriber’s service address.
“By combining Broadcom’s field-proven satellite ODU technology with GPS functionality, we are able to provide operators with the capability to more conveniently and cost-effectively track the location of their equipment and prevent redistribution of content to nonsubscribers,” said Nicholas Dunn, Broadcom Vice President of Direct Broadcast Satellite Marketing. “This integrated technology can also open the door to operator delivery of location-based social media and business applications, providing subscribers with targeted content such as information on local service providers, retail operations and restaurants, or a specific televised event.”
