Four of the country’s largest television broadcast station owners have launched a new wireless datacasting service they say can deliver data to phones and other devices, reports thedesk.net. The service, called EdgeBeam Wireless, uses spectrum set aside for ATSC 3.0 television broadcasting (also known by the consumer name NextGen TV) to deliver one-way data transmission capabilities. The broadcasters — Nexstar Media Group; the E.W. Scripps Company; Sinclair, Inc.; and Gray Media — announced the launch of EdgeBeam Wireless at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
“EdgeBeam will be able to deliver data across the country to any civilian or military device with an ATSC 3.0 receiver, such as cars and trucks, drones, marine vessels, phones, tablets, and television sets,” the companies said. “This partnership creates a spectrum footprint that no individual broadcaster could achieve on its own, unlocking the potential of ATSC 3.0 to offer nationwide coverage for data delivery to billions of potential devices on market-disrupting terms.”
Some of the capabilities of EdgeBeam Wireless include giving automakers the ability to push out software updates to their vehicles in a given geographic region, provide more-reliable content delivery networks for video streaming services that improves upon the viewer experience “without buffering or lag,” and enhance the reliability and accuracy of GPS services.
Sinclair President/CEO Chris Ripley explained, “EdgeBeam Wireless will have benefits for the entire wireless ecosystem, helping to relieve congestion while also offering competitive pricing for wide-area data distribution.”
“Our long-held belief is that the transmission of high-speed data via our broadcast infrastructure represents a new way forward for the broadcast industry and a new stream of potentially significant revenue,” said Perry Sook, the founder, Chairman and CEO of Nexstar.
The companies say they anticipate partnering with other broadcasters “for additional capacity to offer truly nationwide services” according to thedesk.net.
“With adoption of ATSC 3.0 receivers in television sets continuing to increase with more models available and sets sold every year, Gray Media is eager to join EdgeBeam Wireless to expand the user base for our broadcast signals to a new category of businesses and to spur the wider deployment of receiver chips in an expanded range of handheld units and vehicles,” said Gray Media Executive Chairman/CEO Hilton Howell.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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