World premiere: First 5G broadcast-capable smartphones presented
Peter Riedel, COO Rohde & Schwarz, Federal Minister Elisabeth Köstinger and Dr. Johann Mika, CIO ORS, at the presentation of the first 5G broadcast-enabled smartphones at MWC 2022 in Barcelona. @ ORS
5G broadcast ready for commercial rollout
Rohde & Schwarz, the world's leading provider of broadcast transmitter technologies, and Qualcomm Technologies, the US world leader in 5G application development, are demonstrating live broadcasting of linear digital TV content to mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) without internet or SIM card for the first time at MWC Barcelona this week.
The first 5G broadcast-capable prototype terminals, which are now ready for commercial use and complete the 5G broadcast ecosystem, will also be on display. Peter Riedel (COO Rohde & Schwarz), Federal Minister Elisabeth Köstinger and Johann Mika (Chief Innovation Officer of ORS) showed the devices to the public.
ORS involved with significant research contribution
ORS has significantly supported the development of this new ecosystem of mobile communications based on 5G broadcast technology with intensive basic research and test operations around its transmitter sites in Vienna.
The first prototypes of smartphones from Qualcomm, which enable direct TV reception via 5G and can now be experienced in live operation for the first time in Barcelona, were also put through their paces in the ORS test environment in Vienna.
Why 5G Broadcast heralds a new freedom
With the new transmission standard 5G Broadcast, linear broadcasting content is transmitted directly and live to mobile devices without internet or SIM via the proven and fail-safe infrastructure of antenna television. This is an essential, market-oriented reaction to the new, location- and time-independent consumption behaviour of TV viewers in the digital society.
Interference-free broadcasting in the UHF frequency band
The technology provides easy, democratically valuable access to TV programming. It also enables network operators and media content providers to deliver content and data to a large number of consumers - for example during live events - in a crisis-proof manner, without affecting the 5G mobile network.
"The basis for this innovative evolution of aerial television is the long-term availability of UHF spectrum for broadcasting. The UHF frequency spectrum between 470 MHz and 694 MHz is used throughout Europe for digital terrestrial broadcasting as well as for live productions of cultural institutions from Lake Constance to Lake Neusiedl using wireless production technology. In the next few years, 5G Broadcast will be added as a future-oriented form of use," explains ORS Managing Director Michael Wagenhofer.
Everyone benefits from 5G Broadcast
The new era of live media delivery will enable numerous new consumer applications, services and business models for the industry. Qualcomm and Rohde & Schwarz demonstrated all the benefits of 5G Broadcast at MWC 2022 in Barcelona.