At this year’s Asia Media Summit, one of the exhibitors was Qualcomm, showing a 5G Broadcast demonstration.

5G has been talked about for some years, but the latest demonstration showed progress in the delivery system.

5G Broadcasting can deliver live radio and tv broadcast signals to cell phones, bypassing the standard mobile data feed. The demonstration by Qualcomm at AMS26 used a modem transmitter to send the signal to a range of phones, but full installations would use broadcast grade transmission technology.

Phones only need an app to view the transmissions. Once the app installed, the phone can receive a signal even if there is no SIM card, or wifi, potentially decoupling it from telcos. Whether the transmission is delivered by broadcasters or telcos is flexible, depending on the agreement between both. Frequency allocation is required.

Recently, Qualcomm Technologies, Motorola, and Rohde & Schwarz successfully demonstrated a real-world proof-of-concept of 5G Broadcast, delivering television broadcasting and added-revenue services directly to mobile devices in Brazil. The demonstration used duplex gap broadcasting, delivering strong wide coverage across 5kms, without causing any interference to regular 5G cellular traffic or digital broadcasting.

Brazil plans to transition to a TV 3.0 digital ecosystem, using “complementary technologies to enable mobile broadcasting.” 5G Broadcast allows for the reception of broadcast television directly on enabled mobile devices.

For the demonstration, Rohde & Schwarz installed an R&S TLU9 transmitter connected to an EFTX antenna at the transmission complex on Paulista Avenue in São Paulo. Local specialist LM Telecomunicações managed the implementation, and Qualcomm Technologies provided a test device and expertise. The 5G Broadcast stream was successfully received on Motorola Razr 50 and Moto Edge Plus handsets.

Reporting: Steve Ahern

Images: S Ahern