SFN May Solve Post-Repack Coverage Issues

Coming on the heels of the TV spectrum repack will likely be ATSC 3.0, the next-generation TV standard that will, among other things, allow stations to deliver HDTV to mobile devices such as tablets and mobile phones.

But the single Big Stick approach may not be sufficient.

To ensure they can reach mobile devices with a reliable, robust signal, broadcasters may have to deploy a single frequency network — several lower-power transmission sites on the outskirts of a service area that can rebroadcast the main signal to blanket the market. The remote sites would have directional antennas pointed toward the main tower.

“What is really different going forward is that the ATSC 3.0 standard, as an OFDM [Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing] format, is specifically designed for single-frequency networks,” says Rich Redmond, chief product officer at GatesAir.

One transmitter development that should make SFNs a bit easier to deploy is the availability of self-contained, weatherproof, low-power transmitters from vendors including GatesAir, Hitachi-Comark and Rohde & Schwarz that are designed specifically for single frequency networks and have a track record of powering SFNs in other countries with OFDM TV standards.

“ATSC 3.0 will allow broadcasters to target mobile devices, and SFNs … [will] allow indoor penetration and better mobile coverage,” says Cornelius Heinemann, VP of transmitter and amplifier systems at Rohde & Schwarz.

This story originally appeared in TVNewsCheck’s Executive Outlook, a print publication devoted to the future of broadcasting. Subscribe here. Read the other stories in the Winter 2016 issue here.