[opendtv] Re: --FCC OKs WiFi between TV channels

At 3:31 PM -0400 5/25/04, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
>Don't think that's realistic. DBS and cable will continue to have
>a lot more spectrum than OTA, so it's hard to see how OTA can
>provide the same level of program choice. Not to mention the
>reception problems that are sometimes easiest to solve with either
>cable or DBS, no matter what modulation you care to use.

Your contention is not valid in the emerging world of digital distribution.

Yes cable has more "local spectrum" than DBS. So how has DBS managed 
to capture nearly 25% of the homes that formerly subscribed to cable?

And broadcasters are the most constrained in terms of available 
spectrum. Unfortunately they are ALSO the most wasteful of the 
spectrum they control.

  And you are completely wrong about the inability to reach many homes 
with properly modulated DTV signals. This is ONLY a factor of 
economics. There will certainly be homes in rural areas where it will 
be far more efficient to deliver content via DBS rather than OTA. But 
in urban areas there is NO good reason why we cannot achieve nearly 
100% reliable reception. I suspect that Mark Schubin can receive 
quite a few OTA radio station in his apartment, using dumb receivers 
that are incapable of dealing with multipath issues.

With smart receivers and a properly designed distribution network it 
is possible to achieve very high rates of reliable reception. But 
there must be some incentive to make the investment to reach these 
high target levels. Unfortunately, broadcasters have little incentive 
to do this with the current big stick business model - they are TOO 
comfortable allowing competitors to deliver their content.

The reality is that there is plenty of broadcast spectrum to compete 
with cable and DBS. But it must be used efficiently, and the ability 
to cache content locally in the receiver or a home gateway server is 
a prerequisite to effective competition with cable and DBS, who are 
already using PVRs to deliver a desired service (time shifting) and 
as a bandwidth multiplier.

The best way to look at this is in terms of total forward bandwidth 
over a fixed unit time (i.e. a day or a week).

With a properly designed infrastructure every market can use at least 
half of the core spectrum. For simplicity, lets assume 20 6 MHz 
channels per market. And lets not bee too aggressive on the bit 
rates; let's assume 14 Mbps per 6 MHz channel. That's 280 Mbps at any 
moment in time; 241,920,000 megabits per day; 1,693,440,000 megabits 
per week.

Bandwidth is not the problem. Understanding how to use that bandwidth 
to compete effectively is the problem.

Regards
Craig
 
 
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