Nokia Networks is participating in a field trial of wide-area TV broadcasting in Germany using a single LTE frequency within UHF spectrum.
The trial, which includes the Institut für Rundfunktechnik, the research institute of broadcasting companies in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, Bavarian broadcast company, Bayerischer Rundfunk, and other research partners, is testing eMBMS (evolved Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service) LTE Broadcast for distributing TV over existing mobile broadband infrastructure. Subscribers would be able to watch TV on their devices without eating into their mobile data plan and independent of network load.
The trial uses a test license of spectrum, which is also referred to as 3GPP band 28 or “APT700”. Nokia LTE equipment is deployed at four sites of the Bavarian broadcast company, Bayerischer Rundfunk, in northern Munich and connected by a high performance optical transport network.
“Today, when watching videos over a mobile network, the content is individually streamed to each user. With LTE Broadcast the same signal is received by many users at the same time, resulting in more efficient capacity and spectrum use,” said Hossein Moiin, chief technology officer, Nokia Networks. “Spectrum doesn’t need to be dedicated to either broadcast or broadband, but can be used flexibly for both according to users’ needs. We believe that LTE Broadcast is a technology well suited to distribute TV and broadcast services and will help us expand the benefits of mobile internet to everyone while evolving the TV viewing experience.”
