It may be on a dead-end track in the U.S., but 5G Broadcast appears to be on an express train heading toward a launch within two years’ time.
In a significant step towards planning first commercial service across the European continent, the 5G Broadcast Strategic Task Force (5BSTF) – supported by Rohde & Schwarz and comprised of Media Broadcast, TDF, Cordiant Capital, Emitel, CRA, BTCY, and RAI, are moving ahead with the development of a joint commercial roadmap across six European markets representing more than 270 million people.
The 5BSTF is an initiative created in September 2024 by Germany’s Media Broadcast and France’s TDF, with a goal to achieve 5G Broadcast market readiness and pave the way towards the first commercial networks. The other partners quickly came on board, with 5BSTF on March 18 celebrating the conclusion of its first “Sprint,” where the Task Force members focused on reaching a population coverage of 125 million residents across Germany, France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Belgium.
The result: 5BSTF members can identify a completely new addressable market projected to emerge after the second quarter of 2027.
“The private broadcast network operators participating in the Task Force are prepared to transform part of their existing infrastructure into 5G Broadcast network connectivity,” 5BSTF said. “As a result, content providers and broadcasters will deliver specific services, mainly focusing on live and linear audiovisual content that has an existing base of loyal fans and subscribers eager to engage further with the content.”
With North America on a different trajectory, the work of the 5BSTF appears to be attracting interest in Asia and Latin America, it says. “This expansion is likely to increase its scale and attract greater interest from OEMs, thereby broadening the addressable market even further,” the group says.
