CHANTILLY, Va.—Datacasting solutions provider SpectraRep has appointed George Molnar as its chief technology officer.

Molnar will draw on his 25 years of experience in crisis and emergency management technologies to spearhead SpectraRep’s national public alerting datacasting network for public safety and government and commercial communications, the company said.

"SpectraRep is delighted to expand our team with broadcast and public safety veteran George Molnar,” SpectraRep president Mark O’Brien said. “Molnar’s dual background in broadcast engineering and statewide interoperability coordination will be invaluable as we continue to build our nationwide datacasting network for public alerting and encrypted public safety tools. His technical expertise will enable us to expand our operational goals while coordinating key partnerships with state and local officials.“

Molnar’s extensive experience and education includes his tenure as senior director of technology at all-news radio station WTOP Washington, D.C., where he led technical and operations IT, broadcast activities supporting newsroom and production activities and disaster recovery facilities, SpectraRep said.

He was also director of engineering and management, WARN Project, PBS, where he led a cross-functional team and multimillion-dollar effort to update the PBS WARN system to comply with new Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) requirements. In addition he held emergency management positions with CyberSafeNV and the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, where he was actively engaged in initiatives focused on public, business and school safety.

“I am excited to join the SpectraRep team, where I can combine my experience and commitment to broadcasting and public safety with the company’s proven solutions," Molnar said. “SpectraRep’s innovative approach to emergency alerts through datacasting is transformative, especially given the need for reliable alerting across the nation. I will be laser-focused on our goal of efficiently and quickly establishing a nationwide network of stations dedicated to keeping communities safe and informed during critical times."

SpectraRep’s emergency alert datacasting services are active at more than 130 public television stations. The company has announced a strategic goal of creating a nationwide public alerting system in 2025.

BOULDER, Colo.—The Public Media Venture Group (PMVG), a business development consortium of 32 public stations, has launched NextGen broadcasting service on W35DZ-D, its low-power station in Cookeville, Tennessee. 

The launch was accomplished in collaboration with WCTE Central Tennessee PBS, a PMVG member station, which is hosting W35DZ’s transmitter and antenna at its Monterey tower location. W35DZ will bring cutting-edge ATSC 3.0 technology to the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee and Kentucky.

W35DZ will also serve as an active NextGen TV testbed to develop and demonstrate ATSC 3.0 applications and use cases, such as enhanced emergency alerting, interactive education, and datacasting, PMVG reported. 

In partnership with SpectraRep, W35DZ will host a dedicated datacasting stream for regional public officials that demonstrates the advantages of NextGen for emergency alerting and public safety. The stream will showcase NextGen TV’s ability to improve reception and data rates and to seamlessly integrate with other systems.

This project is made possible through a joint venture between PMVG and RAPA (Korea Radio Promotion Association), working alongside ATSC 3.0 solutions provider DigiCAP, project manager Jim Stenberg of Over The Air RF Consulting, and Korean manufacturer JM Broadcast which provided the W35DZ transmitter at a deep discount, the participants said. 

As previously reported, PMVG acquired W35DZ in 2022 thanks to the generosity of Jeff Winemiller (LowCountry 34 Media), who donated the construction permit and provided engineering know-how and staff to design and construct the station’s original ATSC 1.0 signal.

W35DZ’s new 3.0 signal is configured to provide a high level of resiliency, the group said. Tailored to meet the challenges of central Tennessee’s mountainous terrain, it can deliver a payload of approximately 15 Mbps per second that will reach over 466,000 residents. The station will carry WCTE’s primary feed in ATSC 3.0 and 1080p as well as additional WCTE multicast channels in both high definition and standard definition.

PMVG also announced that it is asking for proposals from equipment manufacturers and service providers who are interested in using PMVG’s ATSC stations in Cookeville and Beaufort, SC, to demonstrate innovative ATSC 3.0 technologies and applications.

Comprised of 32 leading public media organizations, PMVG develops scalable technology use cases to help sustain public media’s vital services in the long term.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—NextGen TV technologies once again demonstrated the usefulness of their advanced datacasting capabilities during the 2023 Marine Corps Marathon, where a partnership of Washington, D.C., federal and regional agencies and broadcasting organizations used NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) broadcasts to help monitor large crowds.

The effort involved NextGen TV broadcasts and infrastructure from Howard University’s public television station WHUT and Sinclair Broadcast Group station WIAV as well as the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, the U. S. Park Police, and Arlington, Va. 

Working together, they were able to use NextGen TV datacasting capabilities to monitor the 26.2-mile course and protect the 30,000 runners and thousands of spectators from traffic mishaps and other public safety threats.

More specifically, the NextGen TV broadcasts allowed the agencies, covering multiple government jurisdictions, to seamlessly coordinate their protective services across a wide geographic area through encrypted video streams broadcast using the television stations infrastructure and transmitted to agency personnel through the IncidentOne datacasting system developed and deployed by the SpectraRep technology firm.

Content uniquely broadcast via data transmission capabilities embedded in the NextGen Broadcast standard is secure and cannot be viewed on traditional TV sets, those involved in the effort said. 

Data is encrypted and requires a receiver and special software to decrypt and view. Broadcasting’s one-to-many communications architecture makes it possible to send huge streams of datacast information quickly to an unlimited number of law enforcement officers and first responders without risk of the congestion and system failure often associated with cellular networks during emergencies.

That meant that NextGen datacasting could be used to add an overlay network for sharing onsite camera feeds from Arlington County and the National Mall with all involved agencies that would not otherwise have access to those cameras.

The event used two TV stations and transmitters to allow for optimized reception at geographically distant receiver sites and to provide additional overall data capacity.

“America’s Public Television Stations are committed to using our communications infrastructure to support public safety and first responders through datacasting,” said APTS president and CEO Patrick Butler. “The 2023 Marine Corps Marathon test shows that public television’s datacasting enables the sharing of critical information with first responders on the ground quickly and efficiently, saving time and saving lives. This event is another important step forward in public television’s work to protect communities and keep Americans safe.”

Sean Plater, general manager of WHUT, added that “WHUT is committed to serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan community not only with high quality educational and informational television programming, but also with public safety, alert and warning, and other critical public mission services.”

“Our work to advance public safety information sharing during the Marine Corps Marathon represents another way public television serves their local communities,” said SpectraRep president Mark O’Brien. “Dartacasing was both a resilient backup communications path and served as the primary source for interagency video sharing. The addition of ATSC 3 this year also highlighted the benefits of this new capability, and broadcast television’s value beyond what you see on your TV set.”

Jerald Fritz, executive vice president for strategic affairs for ONE Media Technologies, the NextGen deployment subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, added, “The NextGen Broadcast standard is a tremendous advancement for the industry and the public, especially for advanced emergency information. Simply put, broadcasters around the country can provide this advanced technology to help save lives. That is the highest form of meeting our public interest responsibilities.”

NextGen TV broadcasts were also used for a successful trial of emergency communications datacasting during the 2022 Marine Marathon. 

CHANTILLY, Va.—SpectraRep has released the results of a successful demo of the advanced emergency datacasting features of the NextGen Broadcast (ATSC 3.0) standard that was done during the 2022 U.S. Marine Corps Marathon.

Working with the Sinclair Broadcast Group/ONE Media 3.0, SpectraRep deployed its IncidentOne Datacast Solution using the NextGen Broadcast standard to deliver encrypted video, alerts, and file sharing among eight public safety agencies. 

Those agencies included the DC Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (DC HSEMA). All data was delivered securely over-the-air without the need for internet or wireless data transmission (LTE) services via SpectraRep’s proprietary IncidentOne Datacast Solution to support a robust security environment, the company said. 

IncidentOne Datacast is an enterprise-grade, wireless, emergency, communications solution that uses the power of over-the-air digital television (DTV) technology to deliver operational and crisis incident data quickly and securely, the company said. 

For the Marine Corps Marathon, SpectraRep utilized ATSC 3.0 digital broadcast spectrum from their broadcast partner Sinclair Broadcast Group/ONE Media 3.0 to deliver emergency communications securely. The IncidentOne Datacast Solution layered a secure wireless network on top of existing communication procedures to facilitate interagency sharing of data during the marathon, the company reported. 

“Our work on the Marine Corps Marathon is another proof point that our datacasting technology enhances public safety communications by delivering the ability to offer reliable communications across agencies easily and efficiently during large-scale public events,” said Mark O’Brien, president of SpectraRep. “We are very proud of the strong partnership SpectraRep solutions have enabled between technology providers and broadcasters.”

Prior to the marathon, SpectraRep deployed IncidentOne Datacast software and datacasting receivers from their technology partners, DigiCAP and West Pond Technologies, in multiple capital region agency facilities and vehicles. Sites ranged from hardened command posts to mobile command vehicles deployed across the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. Encrypted streaming video, files, and alerts were transmitted over WIAV, a Sinclair Broadcast Group NextGen Broadcast-enabled station, to agencies equipped with IncidentOne receivers connected to television antennas. Select agencies used an online dashboard to view multiple cameras from participating agencies, or received targeted video over the air, SpectraRep reported.  

“One of the most important benefits of ATSC 3.0 datacasting,” added O’Brien, “is that it is a significant enabler in the delivery of emergency information. With ATSC 3.0 datacasting, public safety departments can communicate and exchange alerts without having to rely on cellular systems that can become overloaded at large-scale events.”

Mark Aitken, president of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s technology subsidiary, One Media 3.0, noted that “The NextGen Broadcast standard is a tremendous advancement to the industry, especially when it comes to using it for emergency communications. Broadcasters around the country can provide this advanced technology to help save lives.”

The Marathon hosted over 30,000 participants involving public safety organizations from multiple states and localities. Eight local and federal agencies incorporated datacasting into their emergency management enforcement and communications toolkit.

One notable outcome of the demo was that participating agencies (including DC-DHS) successfully shared and received encrypted streaming video, targeted alerts, files, and information delivered over the air in ATSC 3.0 without internet or LTE service.

Another major takeaway was that multiple agencies were able to receive the same alerts in real time during the marathon, including one notification about a runner missing from the designated course, with description and other identifying information.

Technology partners in the datacasting project included DigiCAP Ltd., West Pond Technologies, Sinclair Broadcast Group (WIAV) and their technology group One Media 3.0, E/M Wave, Winegard, Osprey Video, and SpectraRep LLC. Key Association partners include America’s Public Television Stations (APTS), ATSC Advanced Television Systems Committee, and the NAB National Association of Broadcasters.

A case study for the project is available on the SpectraRep website. 

CHANTILLY, Va.—SpectraRep, a provider of  datacasting services for more than 20 years, in concert with Sinclair/ONE Media says it completed a successful NextGen Broadcast pilot of its IncidentOne datacasting solution for D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management and six other federal and local public safety agencies. This application delivered sophisticated emergency communications through improved video, alert, and file sharing among multiple public safety agencies during the 2022 July 4th celebrations in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall using the advanced spectrum platform capabilities enabled by the NextGen Broadcast standard.  

Based on the NextGen Broadcast standard, IncidentOne layered a new secure wireless network on top of existing communication procedures to facilitate inter-agency sharing of data at unprecedented levels. Employing the NextGen Broadcast facilities of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s station WIAV and partnering with America’s Public Television Stations and the Advanced Television Systems Committee, the pilot program was a significant demonstration of the new capabilities of the Internet Protocol-based standard that dramatically improves television transmission, SpectraRep said.

IncidentOne is an existing enterprise-grade wireless emergency communications solution that uses over-the-air digital television (DTV) technology to deliver operational and crisis incident data quickly and securely. 

While IncidentOne has been used in the past to datacast public safety information via DTV airwaves, SpectraRep says datacasting with the new and efficient NextGen Broadcast standard supports a more robust transmission signal, higher data capacity, and, for the first time, mobile reception.

“SpectraRep and our partners are extremely pleased that the datacasting pilot supported by ATSC 3.0—NextGen Broadcasting—provided an enhanced ability to protect the public with more bandwidth and reliable mobile reception around data sharing,” said Mark O’Brien, President of SpectraRep. “As shown during the pilot, our datacasting solution helps first responders identify potential threats and disseminate emergency response information more quickly and efficiently than ever before possible. It remains our goal to increase the ability of emergency responders to have what they need to protect lives.”

O’Brien also noted that the NextGen Broadcast signal provided flexibility for optimizing data capacity and signal reception in both indoor and mobile facilities, which is key to fully supporting public safety professionals in the field. He added that large-scale events typically overload cellular systems, making it difficult for public safety departments to communicate and exchange critical data.

Mark Aitken, president of Sinclair’s technology subsidiary, ONE Media 3.0, added, “The advanced datacasting capabilities using the NextGen Broadcast standard is exactly the type of service that broadcasters around the country can provide and is a unique example of why accelerated deployment of these capabilities is so critical. NextGen can save lives.”

NAB EVP, Technology/CTO Sam Matheny said "this live datacasting pilot spotlights the unique and valuable opportunities made possible by the ATSC 3.0 standard, especially when it comes to public safety. This successful program can provide a blueprint for federal, state and local first responders to strengthen their emergency communications capabilities and reliably share lifesaving information during times of disaster. 

"NAB thanks the agencies and technology partners that participated in this project, as broadcasters continue to leverage ATSC 3.0 features to best serve the American people."   

This article was updated to add NAB's statement. 

Confirming the success of the pilot program is DC Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC), Charles Guddemi, who reported, “We observed success with streaming encrypted video over the datacast signal, and then could successfully target and send that video to other agencies. We also confirmed the ability to send alerts and files to the authorized participating agencies.”

Top successful outcomes from the pilot program include:

• Safe and secure inter-agency sharing of video, messages, and files was achieved using SpectraRep’s IncidentOne datacasting solution.
• Select agencies transmitted secure alert messages that also included attached files.
• SpectraRep’s datacasting solution reached command staff and decision makers across agencies without requiring access to or interconnection between individual agency secure networks.
• SpectraRep’s mobile phone video application provided access to handheld video sourced from agency personnel in the field to operations centers.

Technology partners in the pilot program include DigiCAP Ltd., West Pond Technologies, Sinclair Broadcast Group (WIAV) and their technology group ONE Media 3.0, E/M Wave, Winegard, Osprey Video and SpectraRep LLC. Key Association partners include APTS America’s Public Television Stations, ATSC, and the National Association of Broadcasters.

SpectraRep's partnership with APTS, in particular, stretches back nearly 20 years when it announced in 2003 it was working with the association to deliver public safety information via DTV airwaves. 

A case study for the pilot program is available on the SpectraRep website. Click here to download.

ARK Multicasting has announced a collaboration with SpectraRep to deploy SpectraRep’s Educast service on the ARK Broadcast Internet Network of NextGen TV stations. The partnership is expected to spur further development of the use of ATSC 3.0 datacasting to provide distance learning services for K-12 and college students in rural communities who lack sufficient broadband access, the companies said. 

“We can help solve and even eliminate a major pain point for millions of K-12, college students, and teachers in rural America,” according to Josh Weiss, Co-Founder & CEO, Ark Multicasting. “This new hybrid broadcast-broadband technology is a complete gamechanger allowing a one-to-many reach which serves as an accretive augmentation to traditional Internet providers struggling with network congestion and last-mile connectivity.”

Carrying the EduCast educational datacasting solution to deliver classroom content on its ATSC 3.0 spectrum will allow ARK to reach millions of students on its network of LPTV stations across 39 states, according to the companies.

“The Covid-19 pandemic sent students and teachers home negatively impacting remote learners without access to adequate broadband,” said Mark O’Brien, President and CTO of SpectraRep. “We realized that we could use our technology with the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast Internet to solve problems in education such as homework gaps and equity much the same way we've supported public safety and law enforcement customers.”

With ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV on the ARK network along with SpectraRep’s EduCast, teachers can securely provide their assignments to students so they can study on their own time. It works seamlessly with whatever learning management system the teachers already use whether it is Google Classroom, Canvas, Blackboard, and others.  

CHANTILLY, Va.—In the first deployment of educational datacasting services using NextGen TV services, SpectraRep’s EduCast datacasting service has been selected by the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) to deliver classroom content via ATSC 3.0 broadcasts to students without access to sufficient broadband services in their homes.  

The project, which kicked off in late November 2021, marks the first time in the United States that educational datacasting will be deployed using ATSC 3.0. Project partners include: New Mexico PBS (KNME and KNMD), KENW Eastern New Mexico University, KRWG New Mexico State University, CTC Technology & Energy, and CLARO Consulting.

“SpectraRep mobilized to deliver a fast and efficient rollout of our EduCast service in New Mexico,” said Mark O’Brien, SpectraRep president. “Within a short period, we delivered the hardware and software necessary for schools and families to begin using the secure functionality of datacasting to access educational content no matter where the students live. We are pleased to be selected by New Mexico to address the issue of equity in education head-on.”

EduCast will use television broadcast signals controlled by the New Mexico PBS stations to send educational materials over the air as files into student homes. These stations reach 98 percent of all New Mexico homes. Inside the home, a receiver will convey the information to the student’s Chromebook or other digital devices. Distribution of the 2,000 datacasting receivers began in November.

“New Mexico’s public television stations are excited about this partnership with our Public Education Department and a new opportunity to extend our mission to educate and engage -- anytime, anywhere,” said Franz Joachim, New Mexico PBS general manager and CEO. In a recent story, The Associated Press noted that datacasting can mitigate the digital divide for New Mexico students who were previously having to learn with limited or no connectivity.

“The main opportunity of datacasting is delivering a reliable method for students to call up classroom lessons or other educational materials much as they would tune in to watch any PBS programming through their broadcast television signal. We believe datacasting could be an important piece in the jigsaw puzzle that is universal digital access,” added Mark O’Brien.

The New Mexico pilot is funded by an award from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham out of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER), a pandemic relief measure from the U.S. Department of Education. New Mexico public television covers the entire state with a network of broadcast translators in addition to their full-power stations. 

“Leveraging opportunities created by digital broadcasting, we can devote a small part of our channel space to send internet content directly to students who lack sufficient broadband connectivity. Without affecting our television broadcasts in any way, we will create a pathway from teacher to student – bridging the digital divide and delivering content designed for internet distribution to homes that lack internet capabilities. We are proud to provide part of the solution to one of New Mexico’s most pressing problems,” Joachim said.

CHANTILLY, VA.—SpectraRep, a provider of datacasting technology for homeland security and public safety, has appointed John McCoskey as its new Chief Operating Officer.

McCoskey has more than 30 years of experience in the broadcast technology. Prior to SpectrRep, he headed up the technology, media and entertainment practice at Eagle Hill Consulting, was the first chief technology officer for PBS as well as the CTO and executive Vice President for the Motion Picture Association of America. He is also a contributor to TV Technology.

“John will be responsible for guidance, alignment and prioritization of SpectraRep strategy at a time when we are seeing incredible adoption of datacasting to improve public safety information sharing and as SpectraRep expands into public alerting,” said Mark O’Brien, president of SpectraRep. "His expertise in broadcast technology, coupled with his knowledge of the public television landscape will reinforce our course as law enforcement and first responders recognize the benefits of ATSC digital television transmission.”

[Read: SpectraRep Datacasting System Helps Share Public Safety Info]

“I am very pleased to be joining SpectraRep at this particular time because there’s such a tremendous opportunity to extend the community service mission of public television stations with datacasting,” McCoskey said. “Using my background, experience and relationships in this domain, I will focus on implementing SpectraRep’s vision to pursue new and existing opportunities that help solve problems on the local level. 

CHANTILLY, VA.—SpectraRep did its part to help both the Houston Office of Public Safety and the Department of Homeland security share video and data during Super Bowl LI via its IncidentOne datacasting technology. The IncidentOne delivered encrypted public safety video and data to emergency responders by using the broadcast TV signal from public broadcaster KUHT-TV in Houston.

SpectraRep was able to help deliver video, files and emergency alerts without using internet or cell phone spectrum. The signal from KUHT-TV allowed SpectraRep to pool cameras in the area to deliver encrypted and targetable video. The IncidentOne system also provided the ability to integrate cell phone video that can be securely transmitted to targeted recipients over the KUHT television broadcast.

The Houston area has reportedly been using SpectraRep’s datacasting technology for more than a year. IncidentOne was supported by funding from the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate and is being developed in partnership with the America's Public Television Stations.