MUNICH—With a few clicks of a tablet, Germany’s 5G Today project, a field trial for 5G broadcasting, officially got underway in the Bavarian alpine region. Kicking off a two-day accompanying conference at the Broadcast Technology Institute IRT, 5G Today is designed to lay the foundation for the efficient transmission of broadcasting content in the 5G networks of the future, which could serve millions of future 5G devices.

First announced in the spring of 2018, 5G Today is a partnership between the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation, IRT, Kathrein, Rohde & Schwarz and Telefonica Germany. The field trial is covered by two high-performance transmitters located in Ismaning on top of the Wendelstein mountain. Both transmitters operate with 100 kW effective output power. Based on the new broadcast mode FeMBMS (Further evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service), 5G Today will test far-reaching distribution of content across large coverage areas with a radius of up to 60 km.

“We must design our future digital communications infrastructures in such a way that everyone can continue to benefit from the diversity of media content,” said Ulrich Wilhelm, director general of Bayerischer Rundfunk and current chairman of ARD. “I welcome the fact that Bavaria is playing a pioneering role in setting standards and in shaping our digital world in this sense.”

The setup at the transmitter location in Ismaning features an antenna system from Kathrein designed for the distribution of broadcast signals to mobile devices. Rohde & Schwarz, meanwhile, contributed HPHT transmitters that are used for 5G radio transmission; the pair operate as a Single Frequency Network in channel 56/57 (750-760 MHz). Telefonica Germany is making the appropriate frequencies available for this purpose.

“With this forward-looking concept, broadcasters can enjoy the same advantages in the distribution of video content over 5G networks as they do in classic broadcasting, such as high video quality, short latency times and long range,” said Peter Riedel, COO of Rohde & Schwarz.

“With this field trial covering Munich and the Bavarian alpine region, we now have a unique and true pioneer project—even if it will still take a few more years for commercial terminal devices to become available and before public operation will be possible,” said Michael Hagemeyer, managing director of IRT. “The test will provide important insights for our research.”

IRT is coordinating the project and developing a prototype FeMBMS received based on a Software-Defined Radio solution. This technology could eventually be integrated into smartphones, tablets and TV sets for reception of live and linear content over 5G.

5G Today will run until Oct. 31. Following the test period, the results and further exploitations of the findings will be further evaluated. 

MUNICH, GERMANY—High-power, high-tower broadcasting to mobile phones and tablets via wireless networks has gotten one step closer with the deployment of an LTE Broadcast single frequency network in Germany.

Transmitter and RF specialist Rohde & Schwarz and antenna manufacturer Kathrein have teamed up on the deployment to deliver media and other data to mobile and portable receivers in Munich and on major traffic arteries between Munich and Salzburg. The deployment is part of the 5G TODAY research project.

LTE Broadcast, also known as Further-evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (FeMBMS), defines options for transmitting to LTE-enabled mobile equipment, including smartphones and media tablets. The standard, specified in 3GPP Release 14 in June 2017, makes it possible for the first time for LTE to enable high-power, high-tower applications in downlink-only mode while using full signal bandwidth for multicast/broadcast applications, said Rohde & Schwarz.

The release also defines a guard interval and modes to allow operation without SIM cards, a requirement for broadcast operation.

Rohde & Schwarz and Kathrein achieved a milestone Dec. 4 when an R&S THU9evo high-power transmitter (5 kW with a 100 kW ERP) went into operation at Bayerischer Rundfunk’s (BR’s) Wendelstein transmitter site. On the same day, Kathrein finished an antenna deployment for testing at BR’s transmitter site in Ismaning near Munich.

[Read: Verizon Launches 700 MHz Airborne LTE Ops]

The Rohde & Schwarz FeMBMS solution supports broadcast applications for video and IP data in high-power, high-tower topologies with bandwidths of 5 MHz and 10 MHz. The transmitter receives the reference and configuration data via 3GPP-conform protocols from an LTE EPC (Evolved Packet Core), said Rohde & Schwarz.

For the research project, the Rohde & Schwarz broadcast service control center (BSCC) provides all needed EPC functions. BR delivers broadcast services to the BSCC via an R&S AVHE100 headend, the company said.

Kathrein’s specially designed antenna in Ismaning supports transmission of diversity signals with 12 innovative UHF antenna fields installed at a height of 656 feet. It also included a 1,214-foot-long HF transmission cable as thick as a human arm. Plans call for a second R&S high-power transmitter (7 kW) to be connected to the antenna by the end of January 2019, making the SFN ready for testing and signal measurement.

5G TODAY is a Bavarian research project that is part of a European 5G field trial being set up in Germany. The Bavarian Research Foundation is funding the project. Kathrein and Rohde & Schwarz, under the leadership of the Institute for Broadcast Technology, are investigating large-scale TV broadcast in FeMBMS mode via 5G broadcast networks. Telefonica Germany and Bavarian state broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk are supporting the project.

(Editor’s note: In the United States, a high TV tower could be 2,000 feet. High-power can mean 1000 kW ERP.) 

MUNICH—Germany is experimenting with 5G and has enlisted the help of Rohde & Schwarz in the process. The Bavarian research project “5G Today,” led by the Institute for Broadcast Technology (IRT), has set up a 5G test site for broadcasting in the Bavarian Oberland. Rohde & Schwarz is one of the project partners investigating large-scale TV broadcasts in the Further evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service mode over 5G networks.

European broadcasters and industry players have worked to establish an international standard for broadcasting in large 4G and 5G networks, which could enable smartphones and tablets at potential TV receivers, combining live TV services, media libraries, social networks and other media services.

As part of “5G Today,” large and smaller transmitter cells are combined to create a large coverage area. The first test broadcasts using TV signals are expected to take place at the end of 2018. They will be simultaneously broadcast on channel 56 from Bavarian state broadcaster Bayerischer Redfunk’s Wendelstein station and other locations in the Munich area. In the build-up to that, components for transmission and reception will be developed and installed, as well as the conduction theoretical studies and preliminary investigations.

[The Future of 5G and IP-ENG]

The “5G Today” project will be funded by the Bavarian Research Foundation over the course of 28 months. The project is supported by associated partners BR and Telefónica Germany.