Recently WWOO-LD Boston has received permission to use 5G to offer free OTA TV from the FCC. This new 5G TV service will enable smartphones, tablets, and any devices, including TVs with a 5G chipset, to receive TV signals. Making free OTA TV more accessible on the go.
“Recent developments in technology on both the transmit and receive sides, combined with an ever-increasing appetite for video and data on mobile devices make this the perfect time to build and test 5G broadcasting,” said Bill Christian. “None of this would have been possible without the tireless efforts of ‘SuperFrank’ Copsidas, founder of Low Power TV Broadcasters Association and XGen Network.”
Bringing broadcast to 5G can help reduce “congestion” from sending data and video millions of times to connected devices using a one-to-one model. WWOO’s proposed 5G broadcasting will use a “one-to-many model” to eliminate the traffic jams.
The tests should not interfere with the 5G services, but WWOO says they will stop testing if any issues come up, according to a report from NextTV.
5G broadcasting will use “lower towers and lower power than their full-power brethren” and so far is experiencing no interference during testing. Around 75 percent of all broadcasters in the U.S. use low-power stations.
As described by LPTVBA’s Chief Strategic Officer Preston Padden, “Anybody who has been frustrated in a crowded football stadium trying to watch the game on a phone can understand the value of sending out in-demand streams and data via broadcast. But the possibilities are so much more, from long-distance learning to high-definition encrypted video to first responders, to filling holes in areas unserved by the internet.”
“We have already set up testing with first responders and it appears that we can get better, faster information to them, not just in our test-market, but potentially nationwide. We have all of the pieces ready to test this, from content creation to transmission to receivers in every form including mobile phones and tablets, so that when the FCC approves this license we can be on the air in days,” said Copsidas.
WWOO has until January 2024 to complete its testing as part of the FCC approval.