Grant Notification for 5G Test Site in the Bavarian Oberland Handed Over at Kathrein
The 5G TODAY research project has reached an important stage: Franz Josef Pschierer (CSU), State Minister in the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy and Technology, has handed over the Bavarian Research Foundation’s grant notification during a meeting at Kathrein. The project is headed by the Broadcast Technology Institute. Kathrein and Rohde & Schwarz are project partners. The project is also supported by Telefónica Deutschland and the Bayerische Rundfunk. As part of 5G TODAY, a 5G test site is being set up in the Bavarian Oberland combining large and small transmitter cells to distribute identical media content simultaneously – and therefore more efficiently – to many recipients.
The 5G TODAY research project has reached an important stage: Franz Josef Pschierer (CSU), State Minister in the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy and Technology, has handed over the Bavarian Research Foundation’s grant notification during a meeting at Kathrein. The project is headed by the Broadcast Technology Institute. Kathrein and Rohde & Schwarz are project partners. The project is also supported by Telefónica Deutschland and the Bayerische Rundfunk. As part of 5G TODAY, a 5G test site is being set up in the Bavarian Oberland combining large and small transmitter cells to distribute identical media content simultaneously – and therefore more efficiently – to many recipients.
For this purpose, TV signals are transmitted as test broadcasts from the BR’s Wendelstein station and other locations in the Munich area simultaneously. As mobile devices are usually not equipped with an integrated broadcast receiver, mobile users watch TV over the Internet. Whenever many users are watching a live stream, for example a soccer game, at the same time, an Internet connection has to be provided from the broadcasting station to each individual mobile device. Up to now, this vast number of individual connections requires a very high bandwidth even though the content is identical. The first test broadcast is planned for the end of 2018.
At the presentation of the grant notification, Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs Pschierer recognized the project’s technological importance: “5G is a key technology in numerous digital applications of the future: From autonomous driving to the Internet of Things – wherever networks and fast data transfer are important, the new network standard will play a central role. The 5G TODAY research project analyses the potential of 5G for the distribution of media content. We are bringing broadcasting and mobile communication together in an entirely innovative fashion. The intention of 5G TODAY is to improve the quality of TV transmissions and media services on smartphones and tablets while considerably increasing the transmission efficiency.