RF Shorts: Other Items of Interest - Jan. 14, 2010

By Doug Lung
published

The earthquake in Haiti serves as a reminder that communication links are fragile. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL), representing amateur radio operators in the United States reported Wednesday that they had received “no word” of any Haitian radio amateurs. The ARRL web site has information on the frequencies being used for emergency operations.

An article on rethink-wireless.com, 4G: Clearwire wants new partners, Verizon looks to usage pricing provides yet another indication that wireless Internet video won't be a substitute for broadcast TV. According to the article, "The LTE operators will also be looking to new pricing approaches for their new networks, trying to achieve a better balance between flat rate tariffs and the booming usage of their network capacity. Verizon's CTO Dick Lynch told The Washington Post that LTE pricing would probably involve a basic flat fee plus usage-based charges for any bandwidth consumed on any LTE-enable device."

For more information on Mobile DTV devices, see Cydle M7: $199 tablet does TV, Web search, Vizio Enters Mobile TV, Wireless Audio Markets, and Cydle Enters iPhone TV, Android Tablet Fray.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.