Original publish date: Wed, Nov 15, 2023:
Broadcasting: A Revolutionary Signal Receiving System
These are two proposals for “Data-Free Mobile Live TV” via 5G/6G networks.
These ideas are free (open-source style). Any individual or body may use or develop them without permission.
N.B.
This topic is written here in two styles of writing:
The first writing style uses simple, easy-to-understand language (for lay people—the usual blog readers).
It is then rewritten in a professional or technical style, which better suits bodies or parties that might show interest in either of the two proposals.
How would this work?
Live TV channels would be available to smartphones via a dedicated slice of the 5G network, which would be fully isolated from the ordinary internet network.
No on-demand watching = no network congestion:This network is for LIVE broadcasting only (meaning the same set of data is emitted to all at any given moment).
N.B.
On-demand watching would continue to run on the ordinary internet network slice as usual, not on the new “Live-TV 5G network slice.”
The service would be free of charge regarding data consumption (this is the key point):
FTA channel watching would remain fully free, as it is now.
For paid TV services, the user would only pay (subscribe) for the scrambled live material, as is the case now—with no data consumption cost.
THE ADVANTAGES:
Free TV watching on the go would run on phones as easily as listening to FM radio (i.e., it could run with no data plan or even a SIM card).
At the device level: the RECEIVE-ONLY MODE would save around 40–60% of phone battery usage.
At the user level: on-the-go watching would be a Real Joy.
On-the-go watching would become a growing, widespread, routine experience.
Unleashed spikes in viewership rates would promote greater success for the experience.
At the TV operators’ level, this would lead to significant revenue growth due to increased advertising and/or subscriptions.
Some of this “extra money” might be redirected to the 5G infrastructure operators in a win-win strategy via the B2B2X (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer) model, helping this new system to sustain and succeed.
Users might no longer need roof antennas (dishes) or receiver devices, as these would be replaced by a simple mobile app.
Users might mirror or cable their phones to large screens at home.
How would this differ from current live TV watching on YouTube, for instance?
The differences are:
Data would be free of charge in this new system. Live TV watching could run on a cell phone without a data plan, or even a SIM card (making it as easy as listening to FM radio).
The receive-only data mode on phones would save much battery usage—about half, or even up to 60%.
Remarkably less network bandwidth consumption, as one set of data is broadcast to all at any given moment (meaning no network congestion could occur).
Accordingly, As I used to make things clear in this " MY NEW IDEAS " blog, Live-TV channel operators, whether offering FTA or scrambled Live services, would support free-of-charge TV data access.
Users would have to pay only for subscriptions to scrambled content (as is the case now), but not for data usage.
How could this idea be executed practically?
Two proposals are presented here:
Proposal 1
A considerable slice of the terrestrial 5G network would be dedicated to live TV broadcasting, within a specific frequency range, allowing mobile devices to receive live channels free of charge in terms of data usage.
The money that TV networks currently pay to satellite companies—or most of it—would be redirected to 5G operators.
This would be in their favor in the long run.
Nevertheless, the current satellite TV broadcasting system may continue to operate, especially in remote areas such as forests, deserts, and mountains—a situation similar to the coexistence of landline and mobile phones today.
Proposal 2
Instead of allocating a huge slice of the 5G network to replace the satellite system and broadcast all the Live TV channels to the whole world, a hybrid system might be a better and ultimately more cost-effective choice.
It would work as follows:
The satellite broadcasting system would continue running as the principal core of the system.
BUT, 5G towers would be equipped with receiving antennas to gain access to the live broadcast of a group of channels (not all) which are popular in its local region, Then it broadcast them to nearby cell phones via a dedicated, small slice of the 5G network (free of data charge). This means that the 5G towers wiuld act as the last-mile bridge to mobile phones.
The dedicated network slice, in this case, would be much smaller than the one needed in Proposal 1.
In addition to the advantages mentioned in Proposal 1, Proposal 2 would have the following extra advantages:
A much smaller network slice would be required, due to the smaller number of channels served in each region and the short broadcast range (local or regional service).
Much lower infrastructure setup costs, because this hybrid design relies mainly on the already existing satellite broadcasting system, and because the 5G TV network would accordingly function only as a regional distribution terminal (or bridge) to stream Live content of small numbers of channels to nearby mobile phones.
That 5G slice would not be a cross-country, intensive Live TV network carrying hundreds or thousands of channels everywhere, as suggested in Proposal 1.This hybrid configuration would allow easy startup and easy testing (and evaluation) of this new system.
It would also allow gradual, planned expansion of the service.
According to all the above, this system will succeed, become widespread, and may become the primary means of live TV access.