Friday, August 21, 2026

Dear Friends,

Our August podcast just blasted past 2,000 YouTube listens and we’ve now cleared 450 subscribers. We’re equal parts thrilled and slightly suspicious—who knew so many people actually wanted to hear us talk about broadcasting? Seriously though, our gratitude goes out to every one of you. You’ve officially spoiled us making us “nearly famous.”

Next month we’re digging into the last decade since the incentive auction and what station values look like on the other side. Bill Christian and I will be joined by special guest Stephan Sloan for Going Once, Going Twice… Gone? From Auction to Afterlife. It drops September 1st. Bring popcorn. Or at least a strong cup of coffee.

On Monday, August 10th, three of my companies filed a request for rulemaking on 5G Broadcast. This one’s a little different from the HC2 petition last year: it focuses on a solid 720p broadcast stream and carves out roughly half the remaining bandwidth for public-safety solutions. In other words, less “shiny new toy” and more “actually useful to the communities we serve.”

Our October podcast will unpack the filing, the latest 5G Broadcast developments, and whatever chaos IBC throws our way.

Speaking of chaos… we’re heading to Amsterdam for IBC (the international version of NAB, only with better beer and more jet lag). XGN will be unveiling three new 5G Broadcast products: Arthur (the receiver software), Beacon (the brains—the 5G Broadcast core, with or without an exciter), and Charlie, the first commercial 5G Broadcast receiver. Yes, those are the real names. No, we will not explain them yet. Want to see pictures of our new XGN children? Take a peek! All will be revealed in the October podcast… assuming we survive the trade-show floor.

Enjoy the last days of summer. Keep smiling. And if anyone asks, tell them the names were definitely not chosen after a long night in Amsterdam.

SuperFrank

NEWS FOR ALL

Say “3GPP” in a broadcast meeting and some people hear Imperial March and a spectrum auction. 3GPP is not a carrier, and it is not a plot to take over television. It is a partnership of recognized standards organizations — including ATIS in the United States — that writes specifications devices can implement around the world.



ATSC is a private membership standard. 3GPP is not. One is governed by a U.S. industry body. The other is produced by a global partnership of standards organizations and used as a common public interface. That is a difference in who writes the rulebook, not a claim that one side is virtuous and the other is not.

3GPP’s work includes cellular. It also includes a one-to-many broadcast mode: no SIM, no data plan, no unicast session. A station that puts a free linear stream and public-safety capacity on that waveform is still a broadcaster. The license, the tower, and the public-interest obligation do not change because the air interface has a 3GPP document number.

The practical case is familiar. A phone works in Boston, Barcelona, and Busan because the receive side is common. The same idea applies to alerts and free video. A worldwide standard means a traveler — or a first responder — does not need a different tuner for every country’s private committee.

Stations can interleave 5G Broadcast with ATSC 3.0, or seek a voluntary standalone path. Neither step is a reallocation. A specification is not a lightsaber.



One standard. More than cell. Still broadcasting.

This trial was conducted to evaluate if 5G Broadcast can serve as a practical Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) pathway for India. We used 578Mhz for HPHT network and 570Mhz for LPLT network to demonstrate a mixed HPHT/LPLT deployment model, with mobile reception on Motorola smartphones. We also utilized 5G Broadcast compatible CPE units to deliver 5G Broadcast services to legacy devices, highlighting the technology's ability to extend broadcast services beyond native-capable devices.

Technical details about the trial, key observations, and open items that will be addressed in the second part are explained in this report, available on Qualcomm's portal.

Read Details Here

On August 10, 2026, XGN / X1 Mobile and Tyche Media LLC petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to amend Part 74 of its rules. The request would allow Low Power Television (LPTV) stations to voluntarily use the 3GPP 5G Broadcast standard as an alternative to ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0.

Read Petition Here

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

LBTVBA Members are invited to receive a free attendee registration code courtesy of XGN Global. 

SiliconDust & the ATSC 3.0 Certificate Authority (ATSC3CA) is offering a free certificate to our members!

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