Someone You Should Know: Dr. Jon Montalban Sanchez

Posted on August 9, 2021 in ATSC News

Dr. Jon Montalban Sanchez is a Senior Researcher and Assistant Professor at the University of the Basque Country.  While studying for his PhD, he worked alongside Dr. Yiyan Wu, Principal Research Scientist at Communications Research Centre and ATSC Board Member, and researchers from ETRI on Layered Division Multiplexing (LDM).

“I worked in the frequency domain cancellation procedure, one of the technologies that made possible the two-layered ensemble transmission concept,” said Montalban Sanchez.

In January 2015, the LDM concept was accepted as a part of the ATSC 3.0 baseline technology and Montalban Sanchez has been active in developing the physical layer groups under TG3/S32 as they relate to the LDM technology.

“LDM is a very well-known technology available in ATSC 3.0 commercial receivers. Nevertheless, in the early years of the standardization process, it was not perceived as a promising technical solution. People favoured traditional multiplexing solutions such as TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) and FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing),” he said.  “We showed the benefits that LDM could bring to the simultaneous delivery of stationary and mobile services.  Consequently, I am especially proud of the role that my team and I took during those years in the many efforts required for the incorporation of LDM as a baseline technology in ATSC 3.0.”

Montalban Sanchez started his telecommunications engineering studies in 2003 at the University of the Basque Country and received his bachelor’s degree after a final year at the Universita Degli Studi di Trento (Italy).  He also received a master’s degree and PhD in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of the Basque Country.  Since 2009, Montalban Sanchez has been a part of the TSR (Radiocommunications and Signal Processing) research group at the University of the Basque Country, where he is an assistant professor with the Department of Electronics Technology.

“In my understanding, another key factor for my professional development has been to maintain a balanced attitude. Sometimes you need to step down, breathe and do other things to find the solutions to the problems that bother you at work,” said Montalban Sanchez.

A devoted family man, Montalban Sanchez loves to spend time on their family farm as well as travel and try new foods. Personally, he is an avid science fiction fan.  His two favorite novels are Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, Dune by Frank Herbert and Blade Runner (the classic one) based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick.

Posted in ATSC News