A recent report from One Media Technologies, a subsidiary of Sinclair, details how the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard offers notable improvements in spectrum efficiency, energy performance, and integration of hybrid systems. These findings are presented in “ATSC 3.0: Efficient, Scalable, Sustainable Wireless Capacity.”
“ATSC 3.0 is not just a better broadcast technology. It is a blueprint for how modern wireless systems can— and should—serve the public interest,” wrote Mark Aitken, SVP of Sinclair Broadcast Group and president of One Media Technologies, in the report introduction.
The study emphasizes that ATSC 3.0 is the first wireless broadcast standard designed for native Internet Protocol delivery, allowing it to scale effectively with cloud-based workflows and mobile data infrastructure. Unlike unicast systems, which send data individually to each user, ATSC 3.0 utilizes a one-to-many model, transmitting data once and reaching multiple receivers simultaneously. Initial deployments in the U.S. have demonstrated a fivefold increase in video delivery efficiency compared to ATSC 1.0. This improvement is attributed to advancements in the physical layer and the shift from MPEG-2 to HEVC video compression. Furthermore, the implementation of a newer codec, VVC, is expected to double that efficiency to 10x.
Brazil’s upcoming TV 3.0 system, incorporating ATSC 3.0 with MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) technology, is projected to achieve a 15x improvement over the country’s current ISDB-T standard. “The MIMO ATSC 3.0 physical layer combined with the new codecs VVC+LCEVC will create a system 15x more efficient than the current Brazilian TV system. This will enable UHD HDR free-to-air services for indoor reception at the highest possible spectral and energy efficiency,” said Luiz Fausto, vice president of standards development at ATSC and former regulatory specialist at TV Globo.
The report also highlights the significance of tailoring signal characteristics to specific business objectives. ATSC 3.0 offers 60 operating points across three functional zones: high-robustness mobile delivery, mid-range fixed TV delivery, and high-capacity fixed-point services. This flexibility enables broadcasters to optimize delivery speed and robustness depending on the use case, from mobile devices to 8K content streams.
Two case studies within the report showcase the potential of hybrid systems that combine broadcast and telecom networks. In the UK, British Telecom has developed a Multicast-Assisted Unicast Delivery (MAUD) system, integrating terrestrial broadcast and satellite spectrum into 5G networks. MAUD aims to reduce peak network demand by up to 50 percent and alleviate the need for an estimated £16.5 billion ($20.8 billion) telecom infrastructure upgrade. In India, the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is experimenting with a Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) service using ATSC 3.0 chips and transmission systems. The government projects that 25 to 30 percent of mobile video traffic could be offloaded from 5G networks using D2M. This initiative also seeks to serve approximately 85 million “TV-dark” households without conventional television access.
“ATSC 3.0 was not built to just deliver broadcast television, but to provide a robust and adaptable wireless IP data delivery platform,” said Josh Gordon, strategic marketing advisor for ONE Media Technologies and author of the report.
In August, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree establishing TV 3.0 as the official standard for future broadcasting in the country.