5G Broadcast

{{Short description|Standard for distribution of media content}}

5G Broadcast (5GB), officially known as LTE-based 5G Terrestrial Broadcast, is a system for the distribution of television and other broadcast media content via terrestrial radio broadcast networks based on downlink-only LTE technology.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-02 |title=New 5G Broadcast trial to launch in Germany |url=https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2024/05/02/new-5g-broadcast-trial-to-launch-in-germany/ |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=Broadband TV News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=5G-MAG |date=2021-10-30 |title=Spectrum for LTE-based 5G Terrestrial Broadcast |url=https://www.5g-mag.com/post/spectrum-for-lte-based-5g-terrestrial-broadcast |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=MEDIA ACTION GROUP |language=en}}

5G Broadcast focuses mainly on mobile use cases like smartphones and in-car radio. It does not require the use of a SIM card or cellular subscription, but only a device like a smartphone capable of receiving 5G Broadcast signals, thus bypassing telecommunication and cellular operators entirely.{{Cite web |last=Bridge |first=The Broadcast |date=2024-03-11 |title=5G Broadcast: Part 6 – Technical Dive Into 5G Broadcast & New 3GPP Standards – The Broadcast Bridge – Connecting IT to Broadcast |url=https://www.thebroadcastbridge.com/content/entry/20295/5g-broadcast-part-6-technical-dive-into-5g-broadcast-new-standards |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=www.thebroadcastbridge.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=5G Broadcast: What can consumers expect? |url=https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2023/12/5g-broadcast-what-can-consumers-expect |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=www.qualcomm.com |language=en}} A stated advantage has been the ability to reduce load off mobile networks during large live broadcasts, and not requiring an internet connection.{{Cite web |title=Broadcasters Explore a New Option for TV: 5G – IEEE Spectrum |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/5g-tv |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=IEEE |language=en}} In a broadcast mode, data can be sent to multiple receivers at once (point-to-multipoint) as opposed to point-to-point.{{Cite web |title=News |url=https://plisch.com/solutions/news/ |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=Plisch |language=en-US}}

The technology has been tested in numerous countries for a number of years, and has been tipped in Europe as the potential future for digital terrestrial television, which currently are mainly based on the DVB-T2 standard.{{Cite web |last=Pennington |first=Adrian |date=2023-09-27 |title=5G Broadcast: The future of DTT grows in Europe |url=https://www.csimagazine.com/csi/5G-Broadcast-The-future-of-DTT-grows-in-Europe.php |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=CSI |language=en}} Public broadcasters of France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and Austria have signed a cooperation pact in 2023 and have stated the use of the UHF 470–694 MHz frequency band to be used for 5G Broadcast.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-07 |title=Leading European broadcasters support 5G Broadcast transmission technology |url=https://www.ors.at/en/news/article/leading-european-broadcasters-support-5g-broadcast-transmission-technology/ |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=ORS Group |language=en-us}}

In September 2023 the specs of the standard was updated and published by the 3GPP organisation. It started being tested by some low-power television stations in the USA{{Cite web |last=Baumgartner |first=Jeff |date=September 29, 2023 |title=3GPP publishes 5G Broadcast specs |url=https://www.lightreading.com/5g/3gpp-publishes-5g-broadcast-specs |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=www.lightreading.com |language=en}} and also in Spain by UHD.{{Cite web |title=Telecompaper |url=https://www.telecompaper.com/news/uhd-spain-outlines-results-of-5g-uhd-hdr-broadcast-trial--1500948 |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=www.telecompaper.com}} In Germany, 5G Broadcast has been trialed and in May 2024 another pilot project is set to begin in the city of Halle.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-02 |title=New 5G Broadcast trial to launch in Germany |url=https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2024/05/02/new-5g-broadcast-trial-to-launch-in-germany/ |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=Broadband TV News |language=en-GB}} It is separate from the ATSC 3.0 transmission standard which is also being rolled out.{{Cite web |last1=Aitken |first1=Mark |last2=published |first2=Jerald Fritz |date=2023-09-12 |title=Sinclair: Don't Fall for the Hype on 5G Broadcast |url=https://www.tvtechnology.com/opinion/sinclair-dont-fall-for-the-hype-on-5g-broadcast |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=TVTechnology |language=en}} In France, a trial is operated by TDF since the Paris 2024 Olympic games.