Australian telecoms provider Telstra has completed the world’s first LTE broadcast session on a commercial LTE network. Ericsson’s LTE broadcast solution was activated and tested on Telstra’s live network with the transmission of concurrent video feeds and large files to enabled devices.
During the demonstration, the devices received different video feeds, including a sports match replay, horse racing coverage and news. The devices also received a large file using the single LTE Broadcast channel.
“The trial is an important step in testing this technology to see how it provides network efficiencies while providing consumers the content they want in a high quality experience,” said Mike Wright, Telstra executive director, networks. “Our goal is to ensure consumers can get the content they are looking for easily and to explore the wider benefits that might be obtained using broadcasting technology.”
The aim of Ericsson’s solution is to offer the highest quality broadcast video over LTE networks and enable service providers to optimise the use of the existing spectrum and networks.
Thomas Norén, vice president and head of project area radio, Ericsson explained, “LTE Broadcast provides the ability to send the same content simultaneously to a very large number of devices in a target area. Mobile operators can use this ability and monetise their media and network assets for new services. Revenue generation and cost-saving opportunities are significant and provide an attractive value proposition for mobile operators.”
Qualcomm Labs’ LTE Broadcast SDK and Middleware enabled these features on the trial devices running on Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and integrated modem platforms. “This is a significant milestone towards making LTE broadcast a commercial reality,” said Mazen Chmaytelli, senior director of business development, Qualcomm Labs.
