Planning Team 8 – Core Network Technologies for Broadcast

Co-Chair: Kevin Shelby, Coherent Logix
Co-Chair: Ali Dernaika, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Scope

Planning Team 8 – Core Network Technologies for Broadcast (PT8) will study the core network concept and consider how it may apply to ATSC 3.0 digital terrestrial broadcasting, including identifying specific use cases and commercial benefits of broadcast core network technology. The group will also investigate the applicability of other industry standards, analyze “gaps” and identify what new technical work might be undertaken by ATSC in this area, considering the guidance for new work as stated in the Bylaws. PT 8 will report the results of this work to the Board. If technical work in ATSC is recommended, PT8 will further document rationale for the work and ideally also document possible architectural approaches and requirements, such as interoperability with existing networks, which would accommodate the identified use cases. PT8 does not draft standards or recommended practices; it may draft New Work Item Proposals and/or Planning Team Reports. PT8 reports to the ATSC Board of Directors and participation is open to all ATSC members.

Background

ATSC 3.0 offers the potential for IP data delivery, including television and other services, which may open new business opportunities to ATSC 3.0 broadcasters, especially when those services and underlying transmission signal configurations can be easily coordinated across multiple transmission sites (i.e., “towers”). This enables them to function as a controlled network. The physical topology of such a network could potentially be an entire country, or it could be more regional in nature. Additionally, it should be anticipated that different business partnerships could potentially result from the creation of associated core networks.

There are fundamental precedents in modern wireless cellular networks for core network functionality. For example, cellular core networks enable cell towers to work in concert, creating a worldwide service that connects receivers to one another and to external data sources. Standardization of core network technology is managed enabling different instances of core networks to interoperate with one another seamlessly.

A core network that enables broadcast towers to be efficiently connected to form one or more service networks may be important or even necessary to fulfill myriad use cases, such as datacasting to the Internet of Things, Broadcast Traffic Offload, datacasting to moving vehicles, and others.

A broadcast core network may further enable convergence and interoperability with other heterogeneous networks.

Note: PT8 is currently in hiatus. This work has been moved to a newly formed specialist group, TG3/S43 (Specialist Group on ATSC 3.0 Core Network).