The FCC has granted One Media, the joint venture of Sinclair Broadcast Group and Coherent Logix, special temporary authority to operate an experimental facility to implement a single frequency network.
The facility, in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore markets, will use base elements of the new ATSC 3.0 transmission standard to deploy “Next Generation” services, such as fixed, portable and mobile capabilities, on the full-power, multi-site test platform using channel 43. It will also provide real-time assessments of the new Internet Protocol-based standard, which the Advanced Television Systems Committee is currently reviewing.
“With the build-out of a first-of-its-kind SFN platform, ONE Media’s ATSC 3.0 technology will be used to drive an understanding of the value new tools bring to broadcasting,” said Kevin Gage, executive VP of strategic development and CTO of One Media. “We intend this new platform to be a place where the broadcast industry can unite to launch new and exciting consumer and B2B products and services.”
“We now have a place to innovate, and together with our Memorandum of Understanding partners, Samsung and Pearl TV, we can bring powerful business ideas into practical demonstrations of opportunities to monetize all of our core assets,” added Mark Aitken, VP of advanced technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group. “We have started to assemble a team that understands the benefits a multi-site SFN brings to all of the stakeholders.”
