[opendtv] Re: FCC Budget Proposal Hints at Broadcast Spectrum Recall
- From: Albert Manfredi <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2011 19:09:00 -0500
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> What you did not discuss is that the infrastructure would most
> likely use spectrum currently occupied by broadcasters and that
> already purchased at auction by the telcos, like the 700 MHz
> bands.
Actually, I think Mark said that he would use the spectrum now taken up by Ch
38-51, to create (the max of) four RF channels, each one the 20 MHz wide used
in 4G.
> And you did not suggest how broadcasters would be compensated
> (if at all) for any "recovered" broadcast spectrum.
You mean, how the broadcasters now using those UHF channels would be forced off
them? In Mark's proposal, they may not have to be, exactly. The impication was
that they would continue to use the new LTE-like spectrum for their TV
broadcasts. The arrangements to be made were not explained, but if done right,
this could work.
The trick is, instead of using last century's "cool SFN idea," which in a
single market scenario ends up reducing spectral efficiency anyway, let's get
some real multiplier effect going here. And that would be, MIMO. All of these
new RF standard use MIMO techniques. Why not for TV broadcast too?
It could work, if you apply true cellular techniques to TV broadcast. MIMO
works best in a rayleigh channel, over relatively short distances. Because you
need to have those multiple propagation paths to get the multiplier effect. In
a broadcast case, you would have to be somewhat conservative in the assumed
b/s/Hz the transmitter can expect to all receivers, however over ranges of a
handful of miles, in a rayleigh channel, the results seem to be impressive. The
8X8 MIMO Mark proposes might get you about 20 b/s/Hz reliably in an urban
canyon. With that sort of spectral efficiency, I think you can think of
accommodating TV plus other stuff.
I'd like to see how this translates to suburban and rural settings. It may be
more difficult to get the multiple propagation paths going, where none is
dominant over the others.
> Clearly there is a mind set in the FCC that would be very happy to
> see broadcasting wither on the vine while a few mega telcos gobble up
> all of the recovered spectrum at auction.
Clearly.
> I strongly suspect that this is where the wireless industry is headed
> - whether the telcos like it or not - as there are already many
> rumors of smartphones with the ability to change services dynamically.
In the article you posted recently, you can see where the cell companies don't
want to be "just a pipe." So they will fight this. But from my perspective, I
would very much prefer that the cell companies were "just a pipe," and that the
phone vendors were "just phone vendors." If these vendors want to make money
selling specialized apps for their phones, more power to them.
Bert
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