MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA— Australian telecommunications provider Telestra announced today that it has completed what it termed the world’s first LTE broadcast session over a commercial LTE network.
“The trial is an important step in testing this technology to see how it provides network efficiencies while providing consumers the content they want in a high-quality experience,” said Mike Wright, Telstra executive director of networks. “Our goal is to ensure consumers can get the content they are looking for easily and to explore the wider benefits that might be obtained using broadcasting technology.”
The broadcast was facilitated by the use of Ericsson’s LTE Broadcast Solution and tested on Telestra’s network with the transmission of concurrent video feeds and large files to enabled viewing devices. Content included sporting network news, a sports match replay, coverage of horse racing and news.
“LTE Broadcast provides the ability to send the same content simultaneously to a very large number of devices in a target area,” said Thomas Norén, vice president and head of project area radio at Ericsson. “Mobile operators can use this ability and monetize their media and network assets for new services. Revenue generation and cost-saving opportunities are significant and provide an attractive value proposition for mobile operators.”
The system allows unique content to be delivered to large numbers of subscribers, including multiple camera angles. It can also be used to transmit content to digital signs and for delivering morning newspapers to consumers.
