China Broadcasting Network to Launch 5G NR Broadcast Next Year

TapTechNews June 27th news, during the 2024 MWC Shanghai period, an insider stated that China Broadcasting Network 5G NR Broadcast will be officially commercialized next year, enabling free-TV viewing without using mobile data.

In response to this, a staff member of China Broadcasting Network stated in an interview with Daily Economic News: 'This still needs to be verified. Theoretically, currently some broadcasts, local stations, and radio stations are provided for free. If it's completely free, the cost may not be viable. We are now exploring this business model.'

When asked whether it can achieve the same broadcasting content as the TV side in the future, the staff member stated 'It will be completely the same in the future.'

In terms of channels, 'Currently (in the demo version) some free channels are available, and except for channels 3, 5, 6, and 8 of CCTV, (for the future commercial use) more channels still need to negotiate for copyrights.'

TapTechNews note: 5G NR (5G New Radio) is a radio access technology (RAT) developed by 3GPP for 5G mobile communication networks and is a globally universal standard for the 5G network air interface.

5G NR Broadcast, simply speaking, it is to transmit broadcasting signals in a 5G manner through broadcasting and television transmitters and mobile cellular base stations, so that TV programs that could only be watched through television before can be watched through 5G terminals.

According to the official introduction of China Broadcasting Network, 5G NR Broadcast utilizes the hybrid coverage of the 700 MHz network of China Broadcasting Network 5G to achieve real-time all-media live broadcasting and on-demand interaction. The application scenarios include 4K/8K/VR immersive experiences, public emergency, Internet of Vehicles, Internet of Things, Industrial Internet, etc.

At present, China Broadcasting Network is jointly promoting with equipment manufacturers such as Huawei and ZTE, mobile phone manufacturers such as vivo and OPPO, and mobile phone chip manufacturers such as Hisilicon and MediaTek. It can realize broadcasting and television services without changing the existing core network, base stations, and mobile phone terminal hardware, without the need for special hardware support, especially the mobile phone chips, only a new driver is needed, which can significantly reduce the cost and difficulty of industrial promotion.