US Broadcaster petitions to commercialize 5G Broadcast

In a groundbreaking move, LPTV Broadcasters Association member HC2, a major U.S. broadcaster operating over 250 stations, has filed a petition with the FCC, the US government communications regulating authority, to recognize 5G Broadcast as an official TV broadcast standard. If approved, this will mark the first commercial licensing of 5G Broadcast anywhere in the world! This development could propel the U.S. to the forefront of next-generation broadcasting, setting a benchmark for other markets to follow.

Summary

This Petition proposes that Low Power Television (“LPTV”) stations be permitted to use the 5G Broadcast transmission standard on a voluntary basis. 5G Broadcast is an approved global standard endorsed as a stand-alone terrestrial broadcast system by international standards organizations. The technology allows an LPTV station to transmit a single 5G signal to its entire service area, which can be received by any compatible mobile device. 5G Broadcast thus provides both the spectrum efficiency of the one-to-many structure of broadcast operations and access to compatible mobile devices on existing 5G networks. LPTV stations utilizing 5G Broadcast are poised to deliver numerous benefits across multiple services, including enhanced programming, datacasting, connectivity, and public safety.

Bringing the benefits of increased 5G services would require very few rule modifications. The rule changes proposed in this Petition are limited to incorporating the 5G Broadcast standard into the rules and authorizing its use by LPTV stations on a voluntary basis. While this proposal includes a requirement to deliver at least one free-to-air standard definition (“SD”) signal, with the remaining capacity available for ancillary and supplementary services, the Commission should examine whether the time has come to allow all 6 MHz of LPTV spectrum to be exclusively devoted to datacasting without the need for a free-to-air signal, given the ubiquitous nature of 5G-capable devices.

This proposal is purposefully limited to LPTV stations, which historically have been viewed as testbeds for the broadcast service. Limiting 5G Broadcast eligibility to LPTV stations will mitigate any impact on the rollout of ATSC 3.0 by full power and Class A TV stations. And the proposal will not impact other industry partners because the Petition does not propose any mandates on TV manufacturers or any changes impacting multichannel video programming distributor operations.

For too long, broadcasters have been restricted by the Commission from making market-based decisions that will allow their businesses to be more viable and benefit the public. From a policy standpoint, the Commission should encourage market-driven innovation by allowing LPTV stations to use the 5G Broadcast transmission standard on a voluntary basis if they elect do so. And as demonstrated in this Petition, the public stands to benefit significantly from allowing LPTV stations to make that decision.